Migrants’ plight refuses to subside

A UAE newspaper has said that despite the fact that thousands have perished or gone missing, migrants continue to undertake extreme risks in hopes of a better future or to escape violence and persecution.

The Gulf Today, in an editorial on Tuesday, said, "What they deserve is a helping hand from the world community and not walls and barriers that are dreadful sources of isolation.

The English language daily quoted German Chancellor Angela Merkel as saying that history shows that when empires have got on well with their neighbours migration pressures have been resolved successfully.

The paper went on to say, "Merkel is one of the rare leaders who have braved political pressure at home to open up German borders to more than one million refugees since 2015. On the ground, there seems to be no respite.

The UN refugee agency called on Sunday for European countries to help Italy cope with an increasing flow of migrants after some 2,500 were rescued at the weekend and dozens were reported missing at sea after leaving Libya. Libyan coastguards also recovered many bodies of migrants from an inflatable boat found east of Tripoli.

Spain’s maritime rescue service saved 54 migrants, including two babies, trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in a smugglers’ boat.

Libya is the most common departure point for migrants trying to reach Europe by sea, with the number making the crossing rising sharply since 2014. Over 1,770 people are estimated to have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea so far in 2017.

The UNHCR raised an alarm recently when some 44 migrants and refugees, including women and children, succumbed to extreme dehydration when the truck they were travelling in (to Libya) broke down in the desert in northern Niger, exposing them to extreme heat and lack of drinking water. Only six could be saved.

Desperate migrants are often crammed into pick-up trucks for the days-long ride, with only room for a few litres of water, attempting to cross one of the most inhospitable places on the planet.

UN officials have rightly called for renewed efforts to help refugees and migrants in the countries they cross before they reach Libya, as people are exposed to horrific exploitation and abuse in these states.

A compassionate response from the international community is the only best way to help migrants," concluded the Sharjah-based daily.