Migrant deaths

The dead of the Mediterranean Sea have continued to pile up. It is not a case of not taking action as much as it has become a case of Europe choosing to criminalise those who are trying to help those trying to migrate to Europe via the dangerous route from Libya. Last week another 90 people have drowned in the sea. Usually it is easy for us in Pakistan to think of those who drown as numbers. However, reports say that at least 12 among the dead are Pakistanis. This reminds us of another disturbing and often unrecognised fact. Pakistanis made the 13th largest nationality amongst migrants attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing last year. Put simply, Pakistan is amongst those countries where people are so desperate to leave that they are willing to risk their lives doing so. Amplified by the deaths of a dozen Pakistanis attempting to reach Europe via a dingy boat, this is a conversation that should be a priority.

Stories of Pakistani migrants stuck in refugee processing centres in Greece have been heard before, but the Pakistani government has done little for them. It is abandonment by the state that made most of them leave in the first place. So there is little surprise if the same state does not do much when they reach refugee camps. But these individuals are still Pakistani citizens whose families are often still in the country. These people are in fact holding the mirror to the Pakistani state by showing its failures. If we were to ask more detailed questions about what factors are pushing Pakistanis to migrate and what regions within Pakistan they are from, we are likely to see blank faces – so little is said about Pakistanis trying to migrate out of the country. It is strange that a country whose foundation was based on millions migrating to it in hope cares so little when thousands are prepared to risk their lives to leave it. Globally, little has changed in terms of the numbers of the dead in these waters. Approximately 246 people have drowned in January alone. This is a tragedy that has happened on the world’s watch. The French president has spoken of the disastrous Nato intervention in Libya to dethrone Gaddafi, and owned up to some responsibility for the regional situation. But if Europe continues to shun these migrants, it will have contributed to more such deaths.