The announcement by the European Comm-ission that it plans to undertake a massive search and rescue operation across the Mediterranean to intercept migrants and the boats carrying them to Europe should be cautiously welcomed.
Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malm-stroem’s statement follows the tragic deaths of hundreds of African migrants after their boat sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa on 4 October. The plan, if approved by the European Commission, would see the EU’s Frontex border agency launch a new operation “from Cyprus to Spain”.
Michele Cercone, spokesperson for the commissioner, said it is hoped that the mission would “help better tracking, identification and rescue of boats, especially migrants’ boats” to prevent further tragedies like Lampedusa.
However, there is no guarantee that any such initiative would be a solution to the problem. Surely a better tack would be to address the causes of mass migration from Africa, and in particular countries like Eritrea and Somalia who comprised the majority of the Lampedusa dead. The UN says that more than 3,000 people every month attempt to flee Eritrea, a country that currently holds more than 10,000 political prisoners. The story is no better in Somalia, which has been ravaged by over 22 years of civil war.
Finding a lasting solution to these conflicts, and implementing direct investment into these countries, is the only way forward to ensure that no more refugees risk their lives just to survive.
