This was the shocking picture on the front page of yesterday’s ‘Independent’, showing African migrants clinging to tuna nets after the sinking of their boat. They spent many hours in the water while officials of the Maltese and Libyan governments argued about who should rescue them. They were eventually picked up by a vessel of the Italian navy, which delivered them to Malta. The Independent’s leader column hit the nail squarely on the head:
It ought to inspire shame throughout Europe that dozens of African immigrants spent an entire night in the open sea while Maltese and Libyan officials, aware of their plight, argued over whose responsibility they were.
It may not. Even the most powerful images of stranded or dead illegal migrants seem to have lost the power to shock. People in the Canary Islands, or on Lampedusa, off Sicily, have become depressingly inured to the sight of the bloated corpses of sub-Saharan Africans washed up on their shores.
The consensus is that at least 6,000 have perished in the past few years, trying to cross the Mediterranean. This is only the number of bodies reported found; it does not cover thousands more who have gone missing.
It would be convenient but pointless to blame Malta or Italy for this situation, however badly the Maltese have behaved over the latest case. Europe as a whole has handled growing south-north migration in a feeble, cowardly manner, and the main strategy of each country has been to pass the buck to another.
Those of us who call ourselves Christian perhaps need to be reminded that providing shelter for the homeless and alien is a Biblical imperative.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Steve 05.29.07 at 4:35 pm
This is much like the issue we have in the United States with illegal immigration, and like illegal immigration, I believe it is a wake-up call for Christians in the developed world to do more for the people of the developing world. While it is important for us to provide help to those who make it to our countries, I believe it is even more important that we give generously of our abundance and challenge our governments to do likewise in order to help develop the economies of the developing world. It is only when we succeed at tackling extreme poverty that we can hope to reduce the human tidal wave which desires nothing more than to find a decent job to feed their family, and will do whatever it takes - including risking death - to do so.
And of course, the elephant sitting squat in the middle of the room is the billions of dollars we spend on killing each other rather than on giving a hand up. The U.S., for example, has spent $500 billion on making Iraq into a failed state. That kind of money could have done wonders in sub-Saharan Africa, or the jungles of southern Mexico, or in Asia.
Alas, it is gone forever, and with it a tremendous opportunity has been lost.
dh 05.29.07 at 7:35 pm
I agree we need to do more for the developing world. I totally agree we need to tackle extreme poverty. However, we still need to address those who come to other nations illegally. I believe the problem between Malta and Libya should have been handled much better than it did. I’m glad the Italians stepped in and seem to “foce the hand” in the issue to the benefit of the people otherwise. I’m glad that in terms of absolute dollars America IS a very generous nation when it comes to the third world. While in terms of per capita we can do more, the fact remains we our in terms of dollars one of the most generous. THe fact is money for the war or fiscal policy is not a “zero sum game”. When one realizes this then one recognizes that Nations must protect its people and promote democracy for those nations who desire it. I totally agree there is becoming a missed opportunity in Africa. I’m glad America is supporting the Ethiopians and Somalian governments desire for a greater democracy with no terrorism. I’m glad that America is helping the Lebanese government who is “waking up” to the threat of terrorism and the support by America with two major allies of the Arab states of Jordan and Bahrain. I’m glad finally America has issued sanctions toward the Sudanese government the government most to blame for the problems in Darfur. In fact I don’t understand people using the term “Darfur” when it is a Sudanese problem as a whole. Who cares that Sudanese government issued a temporary truce when behind the scenes they are promoting terrorism. We need to change from using “Darfur” to using “Sudan”. I know many a Christian in the Sudanese south who was pursecuted by the Sudanese government. It was only when the were “exterminated” and it moved to Darfur that people woke up. However, the term “darfur” as opposed to Sudan” kept being used. Why is this when Sudanese Christians were “extreminated” and tortured? I know one Sudenses Christian who showed me his back and it was full of scars because “I wouldn’t accept Mohamed as God and I wouldn’t renouce Jesus as God.” (that was a direct quote). Overal we need to help ALL people who are under religious persecution for their Christian beliefs and we need to pray for all of those as well. Thank God for the organization “Voice of the Martyrs”.
rad 05.30.07 at 7:44 am
Simple question - If a war broke out in your country….something you did not start or can handle….wouldnt you want to leave for a peaceful land? If we have fewer peaceful lands than conflict ridden ones, where would people go? Religion can be used as a tool to create tolerance for other religions and hope in general for a peaceful day. But those who suffer brutually everyday or simply dont know where their next meal would come from, may not give religion as much importance. Important it is to have a single voice against that injustice, and offer support to developing technology, infrastructure, access, governance and accountability in these countries. Practically speaking, it is not even neccessary to do so on moral grounds. A wider unrest is the natural consequence of continued instability in the modern world. Developed countries already face them.
Indefinite absorption of refugees and immigrants is not the solution. Point is -Can you make your governments accountable for your money they spend in these countries - as war or aid? It is not that efforts are lacking direction or resources. Can you develop a moral ground, by way of religion perhaps, to motivate people on this side to be more accountable and result-driven?
dh 05.30.07 at 2:41 pm
Rad, while I believe that the answers to these questions are in Christ alone and that only when people accept Christ that true change can happen. However, I really enjoyed your post here. Taking care of instability as you properly recognized in your post requires developed nations to help in terms of war and aid those sides where there are innocent people and those sides where they are defending themselves against torurous, murderous, lack of freedom regimes. We must make them accountible that all is being done. Your “intolerance” comment suggests that Christians, Jews and Arabs are equally at fault in the problem. Why at different times that is the case, the current situation is so much different. Im the past 20 years I see no “Christian war”, I see the Jews in Israel defending themselves against terrorists, I see minority groups within Islam and the Arab world being the terrorists with the majority of the Muslim Arab world hostage to the terrorists. So when I see the issue of intolereance it is a matter of where it began within a particular generation alone and the attitude therein. If it is a matter of “self-defense” then I believe that is legitimate. I personally cannot tolerate terrorism nor should anyone. One must truly define the term and lay the blame therein rather than be relativistic in our answer to these issues.
rad 05.31.07 at 8:17 am
Dh, frankly i don’t have a complete grasp of any religion. I view people as strictly people first and God as God. For me all religions are equal because they all preach love, tell you to do what is right and they all forbid violence. So no blame game at all. I am not indifferent to religion, although. It depends on how you interpret it.
I think people make mistakes and play political games as people irrespective of their authority to influence one man or a whole nation as a religious leader or otherwise. I separate politics from religion. The latter i think is personal and when extended - social. That said, i greatly value the influence ‘religion’ can have on the way politics is conducted, especially as far as international policies goes…because religion is the best means to awaken and enlighten one’s conscience.
Terrorists are terrorists - they misguide people in the name of religion because religion is the closest to an individual’s life, in reality. If there was something else -they would have exploited that. I genuinely doubt religion was the reason they started fighting. And if you say in self-defence – then the person they were defending themselves against are not religious either. If they truly practiced religion -they wouldn’t suppress and kill others in the first place. Problems in these regions have been going on for years because once the blame game start there’s no end. One should be careful of how this term – ‘terrorist’ is used. While from the historical point of view, I believe Christian nations have been more adaptive and moved beyond religion to addressing problems of day to day life (economic problems) – there are more reasons than one. Social and economic progress goes hand in hand. When there is a strong imbalance, both suffer because of and as a consequence of each other.
My point was that further damage in these nations should be avoided. When people have no food to eat, when their children are snatched away by armies and so on, i truly wonder religion is on their mind. The only solution is to forgive - that’s what religions teaches - and start afresh with concern of building lives not destroying them. Very idealistic. Practically then, it is the economic opportunity to do well and be free of any binding that would help people to build stable nations. I believe that for such big issues - help should be extended in various matters - monetarily, food aid, medicine, social infrastructure, religious healing and guidance and so on. To ensure the right effort however, people as a “human community” should come together. People should ask governments that “we are paying you tax for the aid you give in developing countries - where is it all really going?â€