- Libya to Italy sea route coffin for migrants
The ninety hopefuls seeking a prosperous new life in Europe only ended up at the bottom of the central Mediterranean on January 31 off the Libyan coast, raising the death toll from drowning for January 2018 alone to 246, by International Organisation for Migration reckoning. Among the ill-fated packed like sardines on the dilapidated ferry were 33 Pakistanis, only one of whom survived, and a four-member family, including two children. The IOM credits Pakistan with another dubious distinction, of an ‘improvement’ to ninth place in the list of largest illegal immigrant nationalities making the hazardous crossing and reaching Italy in January 2018 (240), as compared to thirteenth place for the whole of 2017 (3,138 migrants). Reportedly, the central character and three accomplices directly responsible for conveying their unfortunate compatriots to a watery grave have been arrested by our always wise-after-the-event FIA, but as regards apt deterrent punishment, nothing can be predicted considering the power, reach and widely-spread tentacles of these human- smuggling mafias.
Most of the thirteen deceased identified so far hailed from the Pakistani migrants ‘triangle of death’, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin and Gujranwala, to which 15 Europe-bound illegals gunned down by militants in Balochistan in November 2015, also belonged. Nothing came of that investigation as the big fish fled abroad, and only small fry were arrested. Considering these coincidences of origin, and countless others, FIA and the interior ministry need to concentrate and clamp down on the ruthless human traffickers operating from these cities to avert future disasters off the Libyan coast and elsewhere. Mere hand-wringing will not suffice for grieving families. Our embassies abroad too need to be proactive and helpful in such tragic cases, in identifying and swift repatriation of corpses.
Why do destitute citizens pay through their noses (by taking loans) and defy death for this dangerous odyssey? The answer is simple and stark: unemployment and poverty. Reportedly, there are 500,000 jobless graduates in Pakistan, of whom roughly 310,000 are from the Punjab, while the poverty statistics make for even grimmer reading, due to indifference of successive governments. They are all culpable for the January 31 tragedy.
