‘Imminent danger of death’ for about 400 people on boat between Greece and Malta (msn.com)
What are the North African versions of Mexican ‘Coyotes’ named?
Like always, the NGO’s make this worse, but that’s cold comfort to the migrants who paid to be on that boat. The flag state of the NGO taxi vessels should be receiving them, not the Maltese or Italians.
I’d certainly be a little assmad if a bunch of Dutch and German hippies started hanging out in the Windward Passage and Ubering Haitian migrants to Miami, but the EU doesn’t seem to be structured to give much ability for anyone but France and Germany to have a say in international matters.
Every day I am thankful I am not in the situation these people are. Kinda reminds me of the Jewish people looking for refuge in the 1940’s. Even the USA turned them away to meet the fate of the concentration camps. Yes, I get it. Many are so called economic refugees, which means they cannot afford food. When the Vietnamese were drowned at sea while trying to escape in the 1970’s I thought “there but by the grace of God go you and your family.” I was lucky to be born where I was, pure luck.
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I come from a family of immigrants. My wife and her daughter from a prior marriage are immigrants. My grandparents immigrated for economic reasons and so my grandfather could avoid being drafted into his country’s army and sent to fight colonial wars in Africa. They were disparaged, spat on and called all manner of vile things upon arrival. My grandmother never managed to learn English so I was never able to talk to her as my father, her son, refused to teach me their native tongue. Unless you have walked in their shoes you know nothing of their plight, what drives them to leave their homes and the land of their birth for an uncertain future somewhere they have never been to before. And I think you will find those NGOs you so obviously have no respect for are not populated by hippies but by mature adults who haven’t sold their souls for a buck like most people have. They still have a heart for the poor and the immigrant, you know, those people Jesus said we are supposed to respect and help. Immigrants are what built America and if you look at the low total fertility rates of native born citizens it will be immigrants who allow the US to remain strong and who’s taxes will pay for your Social Security and Medicare. Without new blood the US will end up with a demographic time bomb like Japan, South Korean, Singapore and China face, an aging population with fewer and fewer workers to support them.
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It is easy to sit in a relatively safe country, in a comfortable chair and hammer away at a keyboard, criticizing the people that try to find safety from war, political or religious persecutions, or freedom from starvation. Equally easy to criticizes the people that follow the age old maritime law and tradition, to help those in peril at sea and side with those who refuse safe haven to survivors.
When the exodus from Vietnam was at the peak in June/July 1979 I was Captain on a Drillship operating in the South China Sea, We were drilling in an area disputed between Indonesia and Vietnam and had no way of avoiding the refugee boats that was coming from the Mekong Delta and Saigon area (like we observed many ships doing)
In one hitch we had over 2000 refugees coming alongside in overloaded old fishing boats.
They had already been robbed of food and valuables by “pirates” and the axes were going as they approached.
I refused to follow instructions from the Operator to use firehoses to stop them from coming alongside and from Indonesian Authorities to stop picking up refugees and sending them in to the refugee camp on Anambas Islands by crew boat
I invited the Manager for the Operator to come out and spray down women and children himself; “I’ll even turn on the water for you”. I told an Indonesian Admiral that called that I was following International Maritime Law and custom and would NOT let people drown alongside, if we could help.
When my hitch was over I “took my boots to town” as I fully expected to be fired and probably be declared “Persona Non Grata” in Indonesia.
When I got home to Singapore I was called to the local office. To my surprise I was not fired as expected, but the Operator’s Manager in Jakarta wanted to talk to me.
Even more to my surprise he wanted to thank me because when the Indonesian Authorities put pressure on him he could tell them that; “that stubborn Norwegian Captain out there aren’t listing to nobody”.
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This doesn’t pertain to this situation exactly, but in other cases I’ve stewed for a long time over a difficult decision, one that could wind up being inconvenient and possibly expensive. As they say, everybody wants to be the boat captain until there’s real boat captaining to be done. After I’ve made my call to not do something because it’s stupid or unsafe, I’ll often times detect a sense of relief from those on the beach, because the company’s done the right thing, and the managers as you pointed out can throw me (us) under the bus as needed.
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Well, youbare certainly correct; I have nothing but disdain for the NGO’s who are running water taxis to bring economic migrants to countries that don’t want them- why would I reapect them? They take other people’s money, in the form of donations, buy, lease or charter boats flagged either with an FOC or from one northern European nation, then sail then then deliver economic migrants to countries…other than their own. Note that last part.
Ok, it’s volunteer work. Great. Tax deductable, of course.
My wife was a refugee. I’ve actually been through the asylum process (and failed the first time). There’s a word for people who pass through multiple countries on their way to a destination. It’s not ‘refugee’.
Before we make assumptions about my thought processes, appeals to Replacement Theory notwithstanding, let’s remember what they.say about assumption being the mother of most f-ups.
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those same people who flew business class to Indonesia, then bought a ticket on a refugee boat to get to australia with social welfare suddenley decided not to come once the law said if you arrive by boat you will never get the right to live in Australia…
Todays refugee is a whole different story than wwII and vietnam
I have a buddy that is a ozzie federal police guy, he said the fisherman asked what day is the helicopter coming…meaning we dont want to waste time in detention.
They all have ozzie bank accounts and phones when declaring asylum ( they get searched)
Next UN assited scam is when you want to claim asylum you lose all right to anything in the country you leave…so guess what, husband claims asylum and wife doesnt…
Anyone that rescues a refugee at sea is just participating in people trafficking and by association money laundering.
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I am not sure most people not affected realize that. I would be annoyed if some Canadians went around rounding up refugees from all over and dumping them on my island, they could take them right on back to Canada and see how long the Canadian Government lets them carry on.
I actually find myself torn:
Should people living in a dangerous hell-hole be trapped there and never allowed to leave?
Should people continue to die at sea because the coyotes send more out than the NGO water taxis can rescue?
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