WHILE AFRICANS DROWN IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

 

Many illegal migrants are increasingly determined to risk their lives by getting into Europe through North Africa?
The journeys are often perilous and more certain to have disastrous end. Yet, African youths are willing to embark on these senseless voyages. Some migrants have genuine excuses of civil and terror wars going on in their countries, while others have bad leadership stripping citizens of their common sense hence forcing them to flee their indigenous countries where they should have had the right to demand for good government from their leaders. But what are the conditions of those who flee their countries in order to seek refuge and asylum status in European countries where they are very unwelcomed.

The following statistics were released week before last. And just as the world was about to heave a sigh of relief this week, as another boat loaded with 950 immigrants capsized with only 28 people rescued. Over 900 lost their lives in that tragedy that has left the world in awe. 
European leaders have been in series of meeting in order to take decisions that will control their borders while showing mercy to the survivors while African leaders responsible for the horrors in their continent are playing deaf and dumb over the tragedies.

The following documents mirror the stated statistics from organizations and journalists at the location.

Hundreds of immigrants feared drowned off Libya
Some 400 migrants are feared drowned after their boat capsized off Libya, survivors have told Save the Children
The Italian coast guard has rescued 144 people on Monday and immediately launched an air and sea search operation in hope of rescuing others.
Save the Children said that many of the survivors were “young men, probably minors”.

The European Union says that more than 7,000 migrants have been plucked from the Mediterranean since Friday.
Survivors say that latest tragedy happened after the boat, carrying about 550 migrants flipped a day after leaving the Libyan coast.
Nine bodies have been recovered, but more survivors have been found since the search was launched.
Meanwhile the EU’s Front boarder agency said that people smugglers had fired shots into the air to warn away a coast guard vessel attempting to rescue migrants.

The incident on Monday happened some 60 nautical miles off Libya after an Italian coast guard ship came to the rescue of 250 migrants as traffickers attempted to retrieve a boat.
The coast guard vessel was already carrying 342 migrants from the previous rescue.
Frontex says the incident shows that traffickers are running out of boats.
More than 280,000people entered the EU illegally last year, many fleeing from the conflicts in from Syria, Eritrea and Somalia.

http//ww.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32311358

As many as 950 may have been on migrant boat that capsized off Libya

Hundreds of people were feared lost in the Mediterranean on Sunday after a boat carrying migrants toward Europe capsized off the Libyan coast, authorities said, marking what appeared to be the latest in a series of mass drownings. 

A survivor from Bangladesh who was flown by helicopter to Sicily told Italian police that there were 950 people on board the vessel, more than the 750 suggested initially. In either case, the disaster could be the deadliest to date among many tragedies on the hazardous migrant route from North Africa to Europe.

As of Sunday afternoon, just 28 survivors had been found alive as search-and-rescue vessels and aircraft combed the area, officials said. The Italian government said that 24 survivors had been picked up from the water.

“They are literally trying to find people alive among the dead floating in the water,” Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told the local press.

Italian and Maltese vessels were searching the area, along with merchant ships, officials said.

Authorities said passengers were believed to be from Algeria, Egypt, Somalia, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Zambia, Bangladesh and Ghana, and included 200 women and 40 to 50 children.

Police said in a statement that the Bangladeshi survivor had said many passengers were locked in lower decks and unable to escape when the boat capsized. With so many people crammed onto the boat, it would have taken little to unbalance the ship and make it capsize, then sink.

Isn’t it enough of NEWS and NUMBERS? We should take action and educate those around us, today.