Immigration: New Sea Tragedy
- April 1st, 2009
- Posted by EUEditor
Some 200 boat people are believed to have perished in a storm off the Libyan coast, part of the current wave of would-be immigrants making for the European Union, via Italy.
Authorities in Tripoli said they were helping survivors from overloaded vessel that sank.
The loss of life has provoked fresh demands for more resources to be put into stemming the illegal migration flow from Africa, mostly from the Libyan coast.
Altogether 35 000 are estimated to have made the crossing last year, mostly to be detained for lengthy periods in Italy, awaiting settlement of applications for entry – or deportation.
The EU has mapped out a two-stranded policy on migration, a long time in the implementation. On one hand it would do more to control frontiers, on the other to service legal entry with employment assistance schemes and incentives for skilled workers to visit Europe for extended stays. (See EUAustralia, “Lanpedusa: Detention centre under pressureâ€, 24.1.09; “Migration Concerns for Europeâ€, 30.10.08).