Response to blog post, “Migrants killed in ‘religious clash’ on Mediterranean boat

In class we've discussed how just because an event is a tragedy that it doesn't automatically make it a disaster. The single event of the religious clash between Muslims and Christians on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea is rather a tragedy than a disaster. It’s tragic that a group of people fleeing war are caught in a chaotic situation. It’s not a disaster, because the number of people affected in that specific event is not great, and the event itself of people going overboard due to an altercation isn't a disaster. The humanitarian disaster is the thousands of people who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to escape war, but end up drowning. Last year alone, over 170,000 people attempted to flee to Europe from North Africa. The Italian Coast Guard has reportedly rescued 10,000 people last week alone. 

An over crowded boat off the coast of Italy

Unfortunately, overcrowded boats either sink or flip over leading to many deaths. The deadliest happened recently, where four hundred people have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. The method of transportation that refugees use is a humanitarian disaster for European countries, especially for Italy. Many groups blame the deaths on the EU for neglecting to continue rescue operations. Also, because European countries aren't open to accepting refugees, many have to go through the dangerous journey to illegally enter Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.

Last week four hundred people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea

The refugees are vulnerable, because they've left one disaster for another, with little to no resources, putting their well being in danger because they have no other options. They also face the hazard of drowning or in this particular case hostility, when so many different types of people board these boats. As conflict continues in both North Africa and the Middle East many will continue to make the dangerous journey increasing the magnitude of the problem. Now with humanitarian disasters comes the issue of who is responsible in preventing and managing these disasters. Obviously, countries such as Libya or even Syria have so much conflict within their borders, that they are not too concerned with the humanitarian crisis at hand. To prevent some from taking the dangerous journey, the EU needs to open up its borders to refugees to legally enter, but it’s difficult to say one party is responsible for this issue. The one instance of the ‘religious clash’ on the ship is not a disaster, but a repercussion of the lack of manageability and preventative actions that would have addressed the bigger humanitarian disaster at hand.

Sources: 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32337725
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/italian-coastguard-rescues-10000-migrants-week-150415192547203.html