The recent deaths of hundreds of desperate Libyans trying to reach Europe cannot be described as a tragedy.  It is, in fact, too insignificant a word to encapsulate the scale of the horror that has numbed the world’s conscience and mocked the human race.
Indeed, all of humankind should be ashamed of itself – not just for failing to rescue these unfortunate fellow beings but also for creating the conditions that forced them to undertake such perilous journeys in the first place.
An estimated 700 people are believed to have died on Sunday after a fishing boat capsized off the coast of Libya. A survivor told Italian authorities that there were as many as a thousand people on board with some of them locked below the deck by the smugglers.
A week back, two other migrant shipwrecks left about 450 people dead, with increasing boatloads coming from Libya as the North African country falls deeper into chaos.
The fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime brought great hope to a beleaguered people, but the initial joy of a newfound freedom soon dissipated with warlords carving up the country and turning it into a hotbed of fanaticism where Al Qaeda and ISIS have established roots.
Understandably, those wanting to get out are the poorest of poor, leaving them at the mercy of greedy and ruthless traffickers who will stop at nothing.
Yesterday, European Union ministers were holding crisis talks as Italy and Malta grappled with the grim aftermath of the Mediterranean’s deadliest migrant disaster.
Human rights bodies say these disasters could have been avoided and insist European governments have to beef up rescue operations besides addressing the underlying causes of the surge in asylum-seekers and migrants trying to reach Europe.
“The world needs to react with the conviction with which it eliminated piracy off the coast of Somalia a few years ago,” said Wiliam Lacy Swing, director general of the International Organization for Migration.
“All of us, especially the EU and world’s powers can no longer sit on the sidelines watching while tragedy unfolds in slow motion.”
Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the EU had to address the chaos in Libya which allows smugglers to operate out of the troubled north African state with impunity. “The name of the game is Libya and the securitisation of Libya,” Muscat said.
“We have what is fast becoming a failed state on our doorsteps and criminal gangs are enjoying a heyday.”
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has vowed that every effort will be made to salvage the capsized boat and ensure those who perished on board are given decent burials.
That may be some consolation, but so far there is hardly a word of empathy uttered on the tragedy by Arab nations who were actively involved in the toppling of the Gaddafi regime.
But then, aren’t they busy with Yemen?!

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