"UNA VERGOGNA" THE LAMPEDUSA TRAGEDY

It has been a horrible tragedy, not the first one and most likely there will be more to follow; however, as Pope Francis rightly says, it is a disgrace... "una vergogna" The Lampedusa horror

Is it despair or the hope of a better life in Europe (or both) that drives these poor Africans to make the hazardous trip to Lampedusa?

It is a combination of causes and these include not only the desire for a better future, but also fear, violence, wars, hunger... There are all sorts of reasons and lots of desperation. You have to be desperate to undertake such a trip. Both Italy and Spain are taking in the largest numbers. Recently, it was reported that there was a large number of wealthy Syrians trying to get away from the conflict in their country. Although they were arriving at Lampedusa to be "processed", they had money, satellite phones and they were calling relatives - generally in Northern Europe - to organise for them to go to these countries. Refugees do not have a common denominator. They come from all walks of life. I feel very sorry for them.

The number of victims keeps on rising and it is expected to reach more than 200. This is an excellent article on the Lampedusa tragedy

Reading today's Spanish papers, I read a poignant article published by the ABC, one of the largest newspapers in the country. Talking about the constant flow of refugees who come to Italy through the Strait of Sicily, they quote some figures provided by the "Fortress Europe Foundation", which are quite horrifying. Since 1990, some 8000 people have died on their intent to reach the Sicilian coast. Since the start of this year, some 25,000 undocumented people have arrived to the Southern Italian coast ( to both Sicily and Calabria).  And 2770 people from Africa have died trying to get accross the Strait of Sicily. It is known that some 60,000 people have tried to cross the Strait since 2011 and this would mainly be as a consequence of the Libyan conflict. Terrible!

The Spanish TV is announcing that yet another tragedy is taking place near Lampedusa. I cannot find anything on Internet, but apparently it is taking place right now. Horrific!

Unfortunately it look like this is correct and another boat is in trouble. BBC News LINK

Some 150 people were rescued; however, it is believed that at least 50 people have lost their lives. Apparently, the refugees called the rescue forces; however, when they saw a helicopter, they all moved to one side of their boat causing it to overturn and capsize. There were children on board. Rescue operations have now been suspended because of poor visibility. What a tragedy!

Well, at least some positive steps are being taken. Let's hope that this will help to save some lives Italy triples air and sea force

Surely no one can cope with these numbers of people arriving

And, as long as there are war and conflicts, the numbers will keep on increasing. It is not a problem for individual countries to solve. I believe that both Italy and Spain are the favourite entry ports for Europe; however, these people move throughout the EU, so every country should help.

So it's been decided to scale back the search and rescue operations in the mediterranean.  It's not entirely clear to me whether this is because of the unacceptably high cost to the Italian authorities or because the EU wants to discourage boat loads of immigrants - by making it obvious to them that they're likely to drown.

despite the fact italy alone has saved nearly 200.000 boat migrants the UK Gov.has decided to opt out of all sea rescue operations in the med saying that it encourages people to try to come!

To all those policiticians who do not know (or do not wish to know) what is going on with this tragedy I would force them to watch this series La scelta di Catia - 80 miles south of Lampedusa
It simply describes a few days  in the life of Lt Catia Pellegrino, the first woman commander on an Italian Navy rescue ship near Lampedusa and her great team of men.
And if they think that the "help" given to these people "encourages" their migration, they are a bunch of idiots and should listen to people who know what they are talking about, such as former Australian PM Malcolm Fraser. These are desperate people, nothing will stop them, not even a possible death. They have no choice.

I agree Gala, nothing WILL stop them, not even the possibility of drowning and withdrawing aid and help is, ghiro just  not going to help the situation....I just wish there was a solution to the problem to help these people....maybe the EU should put more monies into transporting them safely across the water....that would be a start....

Angie, I agree with you, NOTHING will stop them, because they have NOTHING to loose. There are solutions, but governments should reach agreements regarding migrant and refugee intake. And they should realize that certain countries, such as Italy, are merely a point of entry and they cannot cope with what this represents.