The mass tragedy du jour reads Rome: Oct. 3 2013: Scores killed as African migrants' boat capsizes
According to the report, “A ship carrying African migrants toward Italy caught fire and capsized off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa Thursday, spilling hundreds of passengers into the sea, officials said. Ninety-four bodies were recovered and more than 200 people remain unaccounted.
“It was one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in recent times and the second one this week off Italy: On Monday, 13 men drowned while trying to reach southern Sicily when their ship ran aground just a few yards from shore.”
The passengers were from Eritrea, Ghana, and Somalia.
Searching for the story on Dogpile pulled up a multitude of hits, only a few relating to this latest incident.
A Feb 25, 2011 article heded Somali refugees drown after boat capsizes tells the story of 59 Somalis who tried to reach Yemen; only one survived.
On Dec. 20, 1012, an article titled 55 drown off Somali coast after boat capsizes reported on the death of 55 more Somalis and Ethiopians trying to reach Yemen. According to the U.S. High Commission on Refugees, 95 Somalis died between the first of the year and the mid December.
Refugees attempting to reach Europe fare no better.
An article in The Australian dated July 29, 2013 declares 31 drown after boat capsizes off Libya leads off stating “More than half the people aboard a rubber boat carrying 53 African migrants died when it capsized off Libya, Italy's Ansa news agency says. Thirty-one people drowned in the accident that occurred late Friday, and the rest were rescued by a freighter and brought on Sunday to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, Ansa reported, citing the survivors.” Most of the migrants came from Nigeria, Gambia, Benin, and Senegal.
This is the same destination as the today’s tragedy.
Worse is another article out of Libya, this time, June 4, 2011, the hed reads At least 150 drown when boat from Libya capsizes and is followed by “At least 150 people drowned when a boat leaving Libya capsized off the Tunisian coast this week, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.
“Scores more were still missing as a rescue operation by Tunisian authorities continued. But at least 578 people survived the sinking Wednesday, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.”
According to the UNHCR, “The overcrowded boat, which set sail May 28 from Tripoli, was headed for the Italian island of Lampedusa carrying about 850 people. The passengers were mostly migrants from West Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh who were fleeing fighting in Libya.”
The report concluded: "Boats loaded with migrants fleeing the ongoing conflict in Libya have been making the journey to Italy and Malta over recent months, sometimes with tragic consequences," the refugee agency said in its statement. "Just last month, hundreds died as a vessel carrying about 600 people broke up shortly after departing Tripoli."
Finally, a story heded Boat carrying 600 refugees capsizes off Libyan coast, hundreds feared drown reports that “Several hundred people are feared to have drowned off Libya, after a boat carrying some 600 refugees trying to reach Europe broke up at sea on Friday.
“The UN's refugee agency said 16 bodies, including two babies, had been found.”
The article reported that “The Guardian newspaper said 61 of the 72 people on board the boat died of hunger or thirst, despite being spotted by a military helicopter and NATO ship.”
In at least one report (55 drown off Somali coast after boat capsizes), the UNHCR Representative for Somalia, Bruno Geddo blamed the deaths-at-sea on “people fleeing conflict, violence and human rights abuses in the Horn of Africa."
Although the body count-to-date still is not complete, we have to ask ourselves: Why?
Why leave home?
What is going on in Africa that is driving these people to risk – and often lose – their lives trying to escape their homelands.
A clue may be gleaned from the U.S. State Department travel warnings
- Eritrea: Crime in Asmara has increased as a result of deteriorating economic conditions accompanied by persistent food, water, and fuel shortages, and rapid price inflation. The combination of forced, open-ended, low-paying, national service for many Eritreans and severe unemployment leads some Eritreans to commit crime to support their families.
Piracy on the Red Sea continues to occur.
Landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a serious problem throughout the country.
- Ethiopia: A number of al-Qaida operatives and other extremists are believed to be operating in and around Africa. Since the July 11, 2010, terrorist bombings in Kampala, Uganda, for which the Somalia-based, U.S. government-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility, there have been increased threats against public areas across East Africa. Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against US interests in multiple regions, including Africa. In February 2012, leaders of al-Shabaab and al-Qaida announced a merger of the two groups.
There are periodic attacks on civilians as well as security forces in the Somali region of Ethiopia. In 2011, Kenyan and Ethiopian forces initiated an offensive against al-Shabab in Somalia, together with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) which has been in Mogadishu since 2007, resulting in an increase in the threat level in Ethiopia and neighboring countries.
In southern Ethiopia, along the Kenyan border, banditry and incidents involving ethnic conflicts are also common. You should exercise caution when traveling to any remote area of the country, including the borders with Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, and South Sudan, and avoid travel outside of the major towns in these border areas.
- Ghana: There are a number of ongoing chieftaincy disputes in Ghana that generally involve competition over limited resources. Several of these disputes have erupted into violence and unrest during recent years, most notably in Yendi in the Northern Region and Bawku in the Upper East Region. Visitors should exercise caution when traveling in these areas and remain alert to outbreaks of unrest.
- Nigeria: An extremist group based in northeast Nigeria known as Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for many attacks, mainly in northern Nigeria, which have killed or wounded thousands of people during the past three years. Multiple Suicide Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Devices (SVBIED) targeted churches, government installations, educational institutions, and entertainment venues in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Taraba, and Yobe states.
Ansaru, an internationally-focused jihadist group considered an offshoot of Boko Haram, has operated in Nigeria since 2012. It has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and execution of seven foreign nationals in Bauchi in early 2013, the kidnapping of a French national in Katsina in December 2012, and a November 2012 prison break at the headquarters of the Nigerian Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja.
- Senegal: The threat of terrorism in Senegal has increased due to the conflict in Mali. It should be noted that Senegal shares porous borders in the north and east with both Mauritania and Mali. Terrorist attacks involving members of Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have occurred in Mauritania and Mali in recent years. In February 2013, AQIM made a public statement indicating that it regards Senegal as a hostile country for contributing to the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).
- Somalia: Terrorist operatives and armed groups in Somalia have demonstrated their intent to attack the Somali authorities: African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM): and other non-military targets. Kidnapping: bombings: murder: illegal roadblocks: banditry: and other violent incidents and threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners can occur in any region.
In February 2012: Al-Shabaab announced that it had merged with Al-Qaida. Al-Shabaab-planned assassinations: suicide bombings: and indiscriminate armed attacks in civilian populated areas are frequent in Somalia. While Mogadishu and parts of south/central Somalia are now under Somali government control with the military support of African Union forces: al-Shabaab continues to demonstrate the capability to carry out attacks in government-controlled territory with particular emphasis on targeting government facilities.
With the exception of African Union forces in Somalia, there seems to be no intervention by Islamist governments to put down the terrorism that is forcing people to (try to) flee their homelands.
Africa is not - at least in my opinion – a U.S. problem. It is a problem for the Arab Union since most of terror is caused by Islamists. It is a problem for a pan-Africa organization, if there is such a thing.
The only time something becomes a U.S. problem is when American’s are involved, e.g., when a U.S. flag carrier is attacked as it sails around the Horn of Africa. The U.S. went to war over piracy in the past (“From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli”), back when U.S. President Thom. Jefferson ordered a naval and military expedition to North Africa, without the authorization of Congress, to put down regimes involved in slavery and piracy.
The Brits, Dutch, French, Germans, and to a lesser extent, the Spanish once controlled Africa; let these nations get involved.
