Migrant Death Toll Skyrockets
The bodies of sixteen dead migrants washed up on the shore of the western Libyan city of Zuwara on October 30,Reuters reported, while another ninety-seven migrants havegone missing after their boat sank off the western Libyan coast on October 26. Four morewere killed after armed men in a speedboat attacked an overcrowded dinghy carrying 150 refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean on October 21. In the past month, migrant conditions in the Mediterranean have been spiraling out of control.The international community is scrambling to respond as deaths accelerate. On October 27, the EUannounced the provision of a new training program for Libya’s navy, focused on disruption of human trafficking and search-and-rescue tactics.
A ferry carries injured Libyan immigrants.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) hasreleased troubling figures detailing the current crisis: at least 3,800 refugees died or went missing in the Mediterranean this year, making 2016 the deadliest year yet for migrants trying to reach Europe. The fatality rate rose from one death for every 269 migrants to one in 88, while Libyan migrants specificallyface a fatality rate of one in 47. This is despite the fact that attempted crossings have dropped dramatically: this year, about 328,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean, compared to more than 1 million last year.
In apress briefing on October 25, UNHCR spokesman William Spindler gave a few explanations for the rise in fatalities. For one, about half of those who crossed the Mediterranean this year undertook the Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy, one of the most dangerous crossings.
Last year,the vast majority of migrants crossing the Mediterranean took the safer passage from Turkey to Greece, according to PBS. In March 2016, however, Turkey and the EUannounced a plan designed to restrict migration to Europe: virtually all migrants who attempted to travel from Turkey to Greece would be sent back to Turkey, including Syrians fleeing civil war. This has led desperate migrants to try the riskier Central Mediterranean passage.
Another European migrant policy that has contributed to worsening migrant conditions was the removal of Mare Nostrum, an Italian search-and-rescue program that searched Libya’s coast for smugglers, in favor of Triton, a cheaper, limited program that patrols only European waters, according to The Atlantic.
To make matters worse, smugglers today increasingly use “lower quality vessels” like inflatable rafts. Spindler said that smugglers are also taking to “mass embarkations” hosting thousands of people at a time, a ploy to avoid detection and increase profits.
Conflict between Europe’s desire to reduce the flow of refugees and the humanitarian consequences of strict border policies continues to challenge the international community. Regional actors like Libya and Turkey are stretched to the limit in their capacity to aid refugees. Any long-term solution to strike a balance between maintaining borders and keeping migrants safe remains to be seen.