Mediterranean: Significant Increase of Arrivals, EU Complicity in Cycle of Abuse in Libya, NGOs Continue Rescues and Strike Back on Criminalisation, Italy and France Clash Over Migration Amid Pushback
EcreMay 01, 2023
The Facts
On Thursday, the UN's refugee agency said that more than 2.5K people had died or gone missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean between Jan. 1 and Sept. 24.
The number of dead and missing migrants in the Mediterranean in the same period last year was 1,680.
The Spin
Left narrative
Southern Europe is currently in the midst of a full-blown refugee crisis. The irregular border crossings into the EU across the Mediterranean have quadrupled in the first quarter of 2023 compared to last year. What are the authorities doing? Malta doesn't respond to distress calls, and Italy is pushing back boats to Libya. It's a deliberate hands-off policy that sees innocent people drown. This perpetual cycle of abuse must end.
Right narrative
The refugee and migration problem in the Mediterranean has exposed a solidarity crisis in the EU. There's no mechanism in place to share the responsibility for hosting migrants. Consequently, the countries on the southern border are overburdened by the continual influx of migrants and forced to argue with the other nations in the north over which of them should host asylum seekers who reach Europe's shores. Italy and other southern countries can only rescue so many.