Recent shipwreck in Greece exposes cracks in European migration policy
The Mediterranean has once again become the tragic end for hundreds of people who aspired to reach Europe for a better life. Once again, the Greek coasts have witnessed the desperation of hundreds of citizens who, because they were born in certain countries, do not enjoy decent and fair living conditions.
A desperation that pushes them to take to the sea, often in poor quality vessels that end up shipwrecked after paying high sums of money to traffickers and mafias. This was the situation faced by between 500 and 700 people on the trawler that sank off the coast of Greece on Wednesday.
At least 79 people have died in the shipwreck, although it is possible that the real figure is much higher, as the catastrophe has left hundreds of people missing. Also, as reported by the BBC, an estimated 100 children were on board the ship.
The Greek authorities are searching tirelessly for the missing. So far, they have managed to rescue more than 100 people alive, most of them of Syrian, Egyptian and Pakistani origin. A coastguard spokeswoman told AFP that there are two patrol boats, a helicopter and six ships west of the Peloponnese peninsula, one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean.
Greek police have also arrested nine Egyptian men as suspects in the disaster. "Many traffickers lock people in the hold of the ship to keep control," government spokesman Ilias Siakantaris told state-run ERT television.
According to Greek media, the boat set sail from Egypt and made a stop in the Libyan port of Tobruk before the final journey, which was bound for Italy. Migrants paid between 4,000 and 6,000 euros to get on board.
"The EU must establish a strong migration policy"
This has been one of the biggest migration tragedies in Greece in recent years, for which the authorities have declared three days of mourning. Thousands of people have also demonstrated in various parts of the country remembering the victims and denouncing the failures of the European Union's migration policy.
Greece, like other southern European countries such as Spain and Italy, is one of the main gateways to the continent for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. For this reason, Athens has repeatedly called on Brussels for a "robust" migration policy. "The EU must provide asylum, aid and security to those who really need it. It is not a problem of Greece, Italy or Cyprus. The EU must establish a strong migration policy," Yiorgos Michaelidis, a Greek migration ministry official, was quoted as saying by the BBC.
However, despite Greece's role in migration routes in recent years, many migrants have sought other alternatives. Athens has increased sea patrols and built a border fence. Also, the journey to Western or Northern Europe from Greece involves crossing the complicated Balkan area. For this reason, many people - mostly from Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea, Pakistan and Bangladesh - have opted to head for Italy, where 55,160 'irregular' arrivals have been recorded so far this year.
This shipwreck once again highlights the failures of European migration policy. Since 2014, an estimated 27,000 people have died or disappeared while trying to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). "How many more people have to die while Frontex and the European Union stand by and watch?" asks the German NGO Sea Watch.