REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

There but for the grace......

POSTED BY: MAGONSDAUGHTER
UPDATED: Monday, April 20, 2015 13:18
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Monday, April 20, 2015 8:27 AM

MAGONSDAUGHTER


"There but for the grace of god go I" my mother used to quote. She meant that it was a stroke of luck that separates us from people whose live lives of unimaginable hardships. Lucky to be born in a country at peace, where there is clean water, healthcare, education, and that we had a stable family, good health etc etc etc.

Here is an example of the despertae lives and deaths of others not so fortunate.

Quote:

A major rescue operation is under way in the Mediterranean after as many as 700 migrants are feared to have drowned just outside Libyan waters, in what could prove to be the worst disaster yet involving migrants being smuggled to Europe.

Italian coastguards have retrieved 28 survivors so far and about 20 bodies, according to the interior ministry, after the boat went down overnight about 60 miles (96km) off the Libyan coast and 120 miles (193km) south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, told the Guardian that up to 700 may remain in the water, according to numbers supplied by a survivor. The accident happened after the migrants saw a merchant ship in the distance and scrambled to attract its attention, over-balancing the fishing boat in which they were travelling.
Analysis Europe’s worsening migrant crisis – the Guardian briefing
The news that 700 would-be illegal migrants have died after their boat capsized off Libya has brought the issue of migration into Europe to a head. But what can be done about it?
Read more

Barbara Molinario, a spokeswoman for UNHCR in Rome, said: “They wanted to be rescued. They saw another ship. They were trying to make themselves known to it.”

If confirmed, Sunday morning’s accident means that at least 1,500 migrants have died so far in 2015 while on route to Europe – at least 30 times higher than last year’s equivalent figure, which was itself a record. It comes just days after 400 others drowned last week in a similar incident.

The deaths prompted fresh calls for Europe to reinstate full-scale search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean. Last October, the EU opted not to replace the Italian-run operation Mare Nostrum, which saved about 100,000 lives last year, amid fears that it was encouraging smugglers and migrants to organise more trips to Europe.

Pope Francis, an outspoken advocate for greater European-wide participation in rescue efforts, reiterated his call for action during mass on Sunday after learning of the latest disaster.
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“They are men and women like us – our brothers seeking a better life, starving, persecuted, wounded, exploited, victims of war,” he said from St Peter’s Square.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/19/700-migrants-feared-dead-
mediterranean-shipwreck-worst-yet

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Monday, April 20, 2015 11:42 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Yes, indeed.

What I find particularly ... frustrating?... is the attitude of Europeans towards this tragedy.

A couple of years ago, they defunded their European-based rescue mission (I forget it's name) and the only responders are/were a nearby container ship, the Maltese Coast Guard, and the Italian Coast Guard, all of which are totally overwhelmed.

But the EU has had its fill of immigrants

Quote:

Malta and Italy are closest to the Libyan coast, and have received the brunt of a migrant tide that carried 219,000 people from Africa to Europe last year. Some 3,500 are known to have died along the way, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement Sunday.
- not only external (from Africa) but also internal.

So Libya was destroyed thanks in part to the European military, and now Libyans are fleeing unbearable violence. The former Yugoslavia was also destroyed, and neo-liberal (ie ultra-conservative) economic policies were instituted in eastern Europe and people are fleeing impoverishment there.

NOW the EU is feeling the pangs of guilt because of this, when they set it in motion to begin with. The reality is that their momentary guilt will wither when they come face-to-face with the reality that they can't afford a comprehensive refugee program; they have too many poor eastern and southern Europeans already.

Maybe someday Europeans (and Americans, since we have the same problem with our neo-liberal NAFTA) will realize that you can't destroy nations next door to you without experiencing the consequences in your backyard. And once a nation is destroyed, it takes decades to rebuild any kind of stability. It would have been far better not to create refugees in the first place. A little bit of logic... it goes a fuckuvalong way.

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You can't build a nation with bombs. You can't create a society with guns.

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Monday, April 20, 2015 12:08 PM

WISHIMAY


I think that's one of the reasons why Greece's economy is tanking, they've always had waves of refugees, and they ARE a pretty generous people, but like I always say "Never give or loan something you can't afford to lose."

Even here, every time I try to help someone out it always ends up biting me on the ass. Gets tougher to make that call, when years ago I probably wouldn't have hesitated. I don't blame the EU too much...

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Monday, April 20, 2015 1:18 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


The thing that I blame the EU for is participating in the destruction of Yugoslavia, Libya and (soon to be) Ukraine.

As Jay said in "MIB"- What I can't understand is, why you gotta come down here bringing all this ruckus! Snatching up [nations] and everything. My attitude is: don't start nothing, won't BE nothing! You know... An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and all that.

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You can't build a nation with bombs. You can't create a society with guns.

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