Love Thy Brother
Illegal immigration is a spiny problem. So many people want to live a good life, far from misery, war, and hunger. The human thing to do is receive those people with open arms. The economically logical thing to do is make sure they can be accepted without worsening conditions for everyone already here. But when one is confronted with desperate people in desperate conditions, the best thing one should do, is help.
After seeing the photos of Aylan Kurdi lying on a beach in Turkey (Remember that little 3 year-old who drowned escaping Syria's civil war? I'm sure many have forgotten.), three firefighters from Sevilla joined an NGO, PROEM-AID, and spent their vacation days at the beginning of 2016 on Lesbos, helping rescue people from the gelid waters of the eastern Mediterranean.
One night, they were apprised of an inflatable raft approaching the island that was taking on water. They set out on a boat with two crew members to try to rescue the people travelling on it from certain death. They searched, but couldn't find any trace of it. Perhaps it had already capsized and everyone drowned by the time they got there, or someone else had already picked them up. What they did find, however, when they got back to port, was the Greek coast guard waiting for them. They were taken into custody, and held for three days, charged with human trafficking. They were finally released, and allowed to return to Spain, pending a court date.
This past week the trial was held. The Greek judge dismissed all charges against them, and let them go. If condemned, they would have faced up to ten years in jail. Even now, they couldn't understand why they were arrested. They were merely helping the Greek coast guard, like so many others, rescue people in trouble at sea. As they explained, to them it was like rescuing people from the ruins of an earthquake. Those people who set out to sea were in need of help, and the three firefighters tried to give it, just as they would on land.
A couple of months ago, a ship run by another NGO, Proactiva Open Arms, was held in port in Sicily by the Italian government on a charge of helping illegal immigration. The ship had picked up the people on a foundering ship within the waters of Libya, but had refused to hand them to the Libyan authorities. Instead, they took them to Italy. Because of that, the ship was held, and the crew members charged with human trafficking and aiding illegal immigration. The members of the NGO argued that they could not in faith return desperate people to a country where they would be locked up in warehouses little better than prisons, where they would be raped, tortured, and possibly murdered. Last month, the ship was let go, though I believe the charges still have not been dropped.
It is inconvenient to many in positions of power in Europe to have NGO's rescuing people from the Mediterranean. It merely serves to point out the lack of humanity inherent in many people in power. One of the arguments against immigration, illegal or otherwise, is that Europe is a "Christian" continent, and cannot take in so many people of different cultures. It would dilute the ethics and culture of this place. But not as much as the blue waters dilute the blood of all those unfortunates that drown in them. If no one hears the screams and cries for help, does that mean they don't exist?
It is a difficult matter. We cannot accept everyone who wants to come here, but how do we decide who should come and who should not? The miseries and threats many suffer are very real. Are we justified in sending back these people just because everyone's level of living might suffer if we let them all in? But how can one look someone in the eye and say they have no right to escape misery or death? Are we not all human? Do we not all share the same, eventual fate? While we live, we should help each other as best we can. And if we see someone drowning, we must help him swim to shore. If we let look the other way and just let him drown, we are guilty of murder. I do believe the founder of Christianity told his followers to help one another. So, perhaps "Christian" Europe would do well to live by the ethics it so vehemently defends.
After seeing the photos of Aylan Kurdi lying on a beach in Turkey (Remember that little 3 year-old who drowned escaping Syria's civil war? I'm sure many have forgotten.), three firefighters from Sevilla joined an NGO, PROEM-AID, and spent their vacation days at the beginning of 2016 on Lesbos, helping rescue people from the gelid waters of the eastern Mediterranean.
One night, they were apprised of an inflatable raft approaching the island that was taking on water. They set out on a boat with two crew members to try to rescue the people travelling on it from certain death. They searched, but couldn't find any trace of it. Perhaps it had already capsized and everyone drowned by the time they got there, or someone else had already picked them up. What they did find, however, when they got back to port, was the Greek coast guard waiting for them. They were taken into custody, and held for three days, charged with human trafficking. They were finally released, and allowed to return to Spain, pending a court date.
This past week the trial was held. The Greek judge dismissed all charges against them, and let them go. If condemned, they would have faced up to ten years in jail. Even now, they couldn't understand why they were arrested. They were merely helping the Greek coast guard, like so many others, rescue people in trouble at sea. As they explained, to them it was like rescuing people from the ruins of an earthquake. Those people who set out to sea were in need of help, and the three firefighters tried to give it, just as they would on land.
A couple of months ago, a ship run by another NGO, Proactiva Open Arms, was held in port in Sicily by the Italian government on a charge of helping illegal immigration. The ship had picked up the people on a foundering ship within the waters of Libya, but had refused to hand them to the Libyan authorities. Instead, they took them to Italy. Because of that, the ship was held, and the crew members charged with human trafficking and aiding illegal immigration. The members of the NGO argued that they could not in faith return desperate people to a country where they would be locked up in warehouses little better than prisons, where they would be raped, tortured, and possibly murdered. Last month, the ship was let go, though I believe the charges still have not been dropped.
It is inconvenient to many in positions of power in Europe to have NGO's rescuing people from the Mediterranean. It merely serves to point out the lack of humanity inherent in many people in power. One of the arguments against immigration, illegal or otherwise, is that Europe is a "Christian" continent, and cannot take in so many people of different cultures. It would dilute the ethics and culture of this place. But not as much as the blue waters dilute the blood of all those unfortunates that drown in them. If no one hears the screams and cries for help, does that mean they don't exist?
It is a difficult matter. We cannot accept everyone who wants to come here, but how do we decide who should come and who should not? The miseries and threats many suffer are very real. Are we justified in sending back these people just because everyone's level of living might suffer if we let them all in? But how can one look someone in the eye and say they have no right to escape misery or death? Are we not all human? Do we not all share the same, eventual fate? While we live, we should help each other as best we can. And if we see someone drowning, we must help him swim to shore. If we let look the other way and just let him drown, we are guilty of murder. I do believe the founder of Christianity told his followers to help one another. So, perhaps "Christian" Europe would do well to live by the ethics it so vehemently defends.
There are two issues here which are completely separate. There is a difference between illegal immigration and people seeking asylum. The countries of Europe have signed agreements (agreements by the way that were put into place at a time when Europeans were the refugees). If individuals are fleeing persecution then there is an OBLIGATION to accept them, evaluate their claims and allow them to stay if it is determined that they are indeed in peril where they came from. There is nothing whatsoever illegal about any of this on the part of the refugees. Rather the illegality comes from the European states that seek to prevent them from entering and starting the asylum process. If the Europeans no longer wish to be bound by their obligations then they should just say so and we can dismantle the process entirely.
ReplyDeleteTrue. Yet, the same boat will carry both economic migrants and refugees. Letting them dock and then carrying out the selection processes means manpower and bureaucratic headaches. So, many of the border countries simply try not to let anyone in, at all. Spain has a system called "devolución en caliente," which means that if a person is caught in the act of crossing the border into Spain, Spain can automatically hand him back to Morocco without asking any questions into the reason for entering Spain. That system has been called into question more than once, but Spain doesn't care. If, in the process of sending them away, some die, they wash their hands of the matter. So does Italy and Greece. In fact, the Greek islands are still full of Syrian refugees that find themselves in limbo. We're not being very human, yet we tout ourselves as representatives of an egalitarian society. We should just let the mask fall and let our wolf's snout be seen.
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