24 Libyan bodies brought to Malta, April 20. Demotix/ Christian Mangion.All rights reserved.Loss of life in the Mediterranean during the last few weeks brings the death toll this year to 1,776. 2015 is on course to be the deadliest year on record. The avoidable loss of life is all the more devastating in light of its predictability. Ongoing violence and instability in Syria, Palestine, Somalia, Libya and elsewhere meant that people would continue to leave these areas and attempt to reach Europe. The lack of legal avenues into Europe for migrants and refugees alongside the EU’s emphasis on border control ensured that they would be obliged to resort to the services of smugglers and to dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean. Finally, the reduction in resources committed by EU member states to search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean since October 2014 guaranteed that many more of those embarking on the journey would not arrive on the Sea’s northern shores.
We know all too little of the nameless bodies that are once again washing up on Mediterranean beaches this week: we do know that they are men, women, and children who had fled violence, instability, and poverty and attempted to find safe places for their children to grow and a better life in Europe. There are reports that they included people from Syria, Somalia, Palestine, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh. In recent days, Malta and Italy buried the limited number of dead pulled from the Sea in coffins anonymously marked with haunting words: ‘Body No: 132’.
As Nando Sigona has written, the avoidable deaths of so many people brings into sharp relief the question of how much a human life is worth. It also raises the uncomfortable question of when we bestow worth onto particular human beings. The hypocrisy during this last week has been clear: as with previous, avoidable tragedies at sea, while the dead are commemorated, the few lucky enough to survive are branded as ‘illegal’, put into detention, and threatened with deportation.
