Refugee crisis: Hundreds feared drowned in boat disaster
HUNDREDS of refugees are feared drowned after their boats capsized in the Mediterranean. Around 40 survivors, migrants mainly from East Africa, told the BBC last night up to 500 people had died. According to earlier media reports,
HUNDREDS of refugees are feared drowned after their boats capsized in the Mediterranean.
Around 40 survivors, migrants mainly from East Africa, told the BBC last night up to 500 people had died.
According to earlier media reports, hundreds of people died after their four boats capsized near the Egyptian coast, believed to be sometime on Sunday.
However neither the Italian nor Greek coast guards have confirmed what would be one of the worst migrant disasters in recent years.
UN refugee agency spokesman William Spindler said: “Our offices in Egypt, Italy and Greece are trying to find out more about this reported incident but, so far, we cannot confirm it”.
The survivors are being held in the southern Greek city of Kalamata.
Earlier, six bodies were found and 108 migrants were rescued from a dinghy, Italy’s coast guard said.
The migrants, believed to be Ethiopians, Somalis, Sudanese and Egyptians, and the six bodies were taken to Lampedusa.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said Europe needed to reflect in the face of “yet another tragedy in the Mediterranean in which, it seems, several hundred people have died”.
The deaths come a year after up to 800 people were killed when a migrant boat sank in the sea between Libya and the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Italian naval ships yesterday began attempts to recover the boat from the sea-bed. Two suspected smugglers, a Syrian and a Tunisian, are on trial in Sicily charged with multiple counts of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and aiding illegal immigration.
Catania Mayor Enzo Bianco told a news agency: “Exactly one year after the biggest disaster in the history of migration in the Mediterranean in the new millennium, we are experiencing an absurd replay”.
“Europe and the world should not be distracted from yet another terrible tragedy,” he said.
The UN said 180,000 people have attempted to reach Europe by sea this year, with the loss of almost 800 lives.
The crossing between Libya and Italy is the deadliest sea route in the world.
The number of migrants travelling to Italy in the first quarter of 2016 was almost double the number of arrivals in the same period last year.
Oxfam Ireland said the EU was “failing utterly” to solve the refugee crisis.
The charity’s chief executive Jim Clarken, said migrants “fleeing conflict and fear, are paying with their lives”.
“Exactly a year ago, 800 people died off the coast of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean. We said that must never happen again, that we would no longer watch bodies washing up on Europe’s shores. One year on, nothing has changed.”
He said EU leaders must “ensure safe and legal passage to Europe”.
Irish News
vella April 19, 2016
Dear friends, First of all the existing independent of Eritrea have been seen the outcome of so many mistakes in the past 40 years.
1. The struggle was originated and fabricated by non indigenous Eritreans. In this respect the interest of Egypt and Arab in general the colonels of Italian and Britain’s had very critical to ply their own role.
2. Organizing al Islamic, pro Italian and liberal progress was the molded party that does not have any goal fulfilling the interest of the people.
3. The false naming of Jebha, Menka, Alwahada shabia etc. had various aimless that couldn’t also meet the momentum of the people.
4. The struggle among each other among independent groups also indicates that they don’t have any conmen goal to wards to globalization.
5. The situation after referendum has also just started to suffer disabled ex-fighters. And HGDF discriminated all Eritrean by fabricating different plates among the citizens the shows as an enemy to each other. This was commonly used not only in domestic but also in every corner of the world. Even those who had the same belief and friends with so many different.
6. As we know the working culture of our society and the personal dignity and reality is known not only to us but to all genuine people of the world. But nowadays, it is deteriorated as worst as Eskariko.
7. The peaceful coexisting of the people was also disturbed locally and they fought by raising issues with Sudan, Ethiopian, Djibouti, and Yemen for nothing.
8. Therefore, here since our bandits(ሕግደፍ) have not yet any policies, strategies, to lead the country it was, is, will very difficult to move on the right truck towards resolving our attitude with indigenous identity (Habeshet).
Mokie April 19, 2016
Would please stop meddling in Eritrean affairs?
Your cousins in Asmara are doing their best to dismantle Eritrea, you are adding unnecessary insults to that … in what way do you think all that can be beneficial to you, other than hatred ?
k.tewolde April 19, 2016
Instead of putting people through this misery and carnage, they should frankly say,’let’s switch sides,you guys come in here and enjoy whatever is left of Europe and we go to your land with untapped ,virgin,overflowing natural resources that you cannot use and we will provide a safe transportation better than a dingy.’ But they want it all, that includes depopulating the black race systematically.And the poor black man is looking only for that bowl of macaroni and piece of formagio at the other end.
Genet April 19, 2016
ወደን ከይሓምያስ ሰበይቲ ወደን ይሕምያ።
First of all it is African (black) leaders who are sleeping with the west and selling our dignity, our resources, land and labour to them. Secondly, we are the ones who should fight for our rights not the Europeans.
Finally, I don’t believe that the black man come for macaroni or a piece of formagio. How preposterous! The black man’s dignity and life does not revolve around food so much so that we risk going through the desert, past kidnappers and through the see.
K. tewelde, take it back! we are not that lowly!
k.tewolde April 19, 2016
Genet writes,’…we are the ones who should fight for our rights not the Europeans.’I agree,and that is precisely the message of my post.This is not about our beloved little Eritrea,there is a constant mass exodus from Ethiopia, central and west Africa and so on, the leaders of these countries like our little bully are the security guards of the pale man and doing the dirty work for him so that in the near future he can work on his tan in beaches of Girgusum with high rise buildings in the backdrop and natives will settle in shimelba,endabaguna….We are missing the big picture, it has been in the works.The macaroni and formagio is figure of speech, don’t get sensitive my dear Genet.
Kibraeb B. April 19, 2016
Brother K.Tewolde, if you knew so much the goodness of macaroni & formagio, why did you have to go meida/ghedli for unhealthy Adess & shiro then? You fought for shifta/ghedli in search of your masters Italian macaroni and formagio, admit it now after 50 yrs of wasteful journey of madness.
k.tewolde April 19, 2016
It was a noble journey I wouldn’t regret, I wish it culminated in favor of the oppressed masses that I fought for.The biggest part of me is still roaming in the plains of Gash/Barka, the rugged mountains of Sahel, the wondrous escarpments of the highlands,and the scorching inferno of the Denakil Depressions.And guess what, I enjoyed my Adess and brkuta with my fellow comrades and still remember them forever young.That was the life carved out for me by the almighty God, and I wouldn’t live it any other way.
daniel April 19, 2016
Bla bla.
AHMED SALEH !!! April 19, 2016
Dinkurna diyu eshnet wela sheleltnet ab zehzn wore zeyedli zereba
kurub keman AMLAKH ayniferehn . Libona weledkhum aytikhehadwa Xibah
bimenfes keytihitetu .
bihito motn hiyetn nay futur Wedi seb mishkielal HATYAT iyu .
Teqera April 20, 2016
Vella said it better and right,
“6. As we know the working culture of our society and the personal dignity and reality is known not only to us but to all genuine people of the world. But nowadays, it is deteriorated as worst as Eskariko*.”
* garbage dumping place
Teqera April 20, 2016
Thank you Teclay for responding to Zeray:
“Ato Zeray
“One good thing though- what ever assets are build by Eritrean sweats will remain in Eritrea for future generations.”
About which future generations are you talking ? are you serious???ምዓስ ኢና ካብ ሕልሚ ንባራበር ን50 ዓመት ዝሓልም ሰብ ኣሎ ድዩ ???
እዞም ብ ኩርማጅ ረሳሕ ድሑር ዓረብ እናተገርፉ ንኤውሮፓ ዝውሕዙ ዘለዉ ዶ ኣይኮኑን future generations.
እዞም ንቕያር ብሽኮር ዝመሽመሸ ፣ውሽጣዊ ኣካላት ረሳሕ ድሑር ዓረብ ክኾኑ ዝጉይሑ ዘለዉ ዶ ኣይኮኑን future generations.
እዞም ናብቲ ኣቦታቶም ፈንፊኖሞም ፣ኣእዱግ ኢኹም ዝበልዎም ኢትዮጵያ ዝውሕዙ ዘለዉ ዶ ኣይኮኑን future generations.
And again a politician is not a priest.So ,stop blaming Mr.Isaias blame you self .If Isaias cheated you for 50 years,it is i and you to blame .So ,our brain is not mature ,we should not consider our selves as human being but animals “
AHMED SALEH !!! April 20, 2016
I hate to engage in immoral discussion at the expense of innocent
souls . But if we follow the information given about this horrific incident , it looks high number of Ethiopians from OROMIA and Harrar
regions fell victims in that cruel SEA .
Lowlife arrogant person doesn’t feel ashamed to play games above human grave . Either Eritrean or Ethiopian our relationship has more brotherly
influenced connections to share the pain in this kind sad circumstances .
We Eritreans went through bitter experience to understand the sorrow it
brings on their loved once back home .
Acolom April 21, 2016
Dear
Brothers/ Sisters
Look I know and I accept all individual comments and idea but we need to think in what situations we are in now. therefore I think we should focus in:- PEACE, RECONCILIATION, LOVE, WORKING TOGETHER, DISCUSSING OUR ISSUES, TRUST BUILDING, and UNSELFISHNESS. This is just a strat and if we can achieve all of these, well we are heading towards Asmara for a nice Paste and cappuccino!
God Bless you all
Acolom