In all the coverage today of the sinking of the migrant boat off the coast of Italy – and with up to 300 dead, there will be a lot of it – one quote needs to stay at the forefront. "This is not an Italian tragedy, this is a European tragedy," said Italy's interior minister Angelino Alfano as he arrived on the island of Lampedusa. "Lampedusa has to be considered the frontier of Europe, not the frontier of Italy." c
Italy says it is facing a continual problem with these boats, as the ambitions of thousands who want to make a life for themselves are commandeered by the ambitions of crooks and traffickers willing and able to make a quick buck. Neither phenomenon will abate of its own accord.
There will be more days like this, more tragedies in places such as Lampedusa. The last decade saw welcome growth in the developing world as poor countries, principally India and China surged, taking 620 million out of poverty compared with 1990 and the UN's millennium development goals helped galvanise international institutions. But the improvement has been patchy. Even in those countries where poverty has been impacted, many who have been pulled out of officially classified poverty remain vulnerable in terms of living and social conditions. They may not die of poverty, but it's no way to live.
And what are we doing about this constant and inevitable knocking at the door of Europe? How do we reflect the truth that an undeveloped population – blessed or perhaps cursed with modern communications – will strike out for a better life in the developed world. We confront the problem with an unedifying hotchpotch of neuroses and political spasms that ensure we never truly see it in the round, never discuss it rationally and never get to grips with it.
Read more: Lampedusa tragedy: migrants to Europe need more than sympathy | Hugh Muir | Comment is free | theguardian.com
Italy says it is facing a continual problem with these boats, as the ambitions of thousands who want to make a life for themselves are commandeered by the ambitions of crooks and traffickers willing and able to make a quick buck. Neither phenomenon will abate of its own accord.
There will be more days like this, more tragedies in places such as Lampedusa. The last decade saw welcome growth in the developing world as poor countries, principally India and China surged, taking 620 million out of poverty compared with 1990 and the UN's millennium development goals helped galvanise international institutions. But the improvement has been patchy. Even in those countries where poverty has been impacted, many who have been pulled out of officially classified poverty remain vulnerable in terms of living and social conditions. They may not die of poverty, but it's no way to live.
And what are we doing about this constant and inevitable knocking at the door of Europe? How do we reflect the truth that an undeveloped population – blessed or perhaps cursed with modern communications – will strike out for a better life in the developed world. We confront the problem with an unedifying hotchpotch of neuroses and political spasms that ensure we never truly see it in the round, never discuss it rationally and never get to grips with it.
Read more: Lampedusa tragedy: migrants to Europe need more than sympathy | Hugh Muir | Comment is free | theguardian.com
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