Refugee tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea

 Once again there has been a tragic sinking of a refugee ship in the Mediterranean Sea off Calabria. This time 60 refugees have died, including children, on their way from Turkey to Italy. Many of these refugees are fleeing from war, torture and other ravages from countries such as Afghanistan and Iran. 

It appears as if these people and their human rights are being ignored by western governments and populations. Surely the miserable plight of refugees needs to recognised and there should be some sort of political settlement to alleviate their suffering.

Refugees from the war in Ukraine have been allowed to cross borders into western Europe  to seek re-settlement and so they should have been. However, why should refugees from Afghanistan be prevented from crossing borders they too are trying to escape the ravages of war? The same applies to folk from Somalia and Yemen. Many people are trying to escape from political discrimination especially if they are homosexuals. Some people are trying to escape from imprisonment for their political views. Most people do not wish to flee from their homeland unless there is a dire and immediate need.

 Usually people emigrate voluntarily for family, work or business reasons or for adventure but not because they are forced to go. Anyone who is forced to leave their homeland should be treated with humanity just like the citizens of Ukraine and Hong Kong.

We need to solve the refugee problem by making every country in the world fit to live in for all citizens no matter their ethnic background, sexuality or political views. We need to stop wars and mitigate the effects of climate change and famine.

Rich governments and countries can easily stop the forced migration of people by stopping costly and dangerous wars, and divert resources from war making to nation building. Rich governments and countries could help third world countries mitigate the effects of climate change. There is a surplus of food which rich governments could help to re-distribute.

The refugee problem could be easily managed,but it requires a change of attitude from every one. All human beings have the right to be treated with equal respect and we all need to to recognise this. The concept of "stopping the boats" both in the English Channel and the Mediterranean to me is repulsive; there has to be a way of accommodating refugees humanely. No refugee should be treated as if they are "invaders" as they are fleeing war , famine or torture, and most of them are good people rather than criminals or terrorists. They do not deserve to be traduced by some of the indigenous population or their politicians. 

I fear, however, that our human race will continue with its policy of discrimination and ill treatment of refugees, and it will continue to ignore the peaceful resolution of national disputes, and it will not tackle climate change and famine. The refugee problem will, therefore,  only get worse. It is time that we all wake up and tackle the problem head on, but some hopes.

ETIAS and Free Movement Nonsense

 Very shortly and after long delays the Schengen area is going to introduce a travel permission system called ETIAS or the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. The system will vet travellers who do not require a visa to visit  the Schengen area of the EU and other European Countries. which means that travellers from the US, Canada, the UK etc. will have to register with ETIAS before they travel. The voyager will need to input their personal and health details and scan their passport  and  into the system, and then pay 7 Euro for the privilege of being allowed to travel for three years. The system can prevent someone from entering the Schengen zone if they have a serious criminal record, a disease or they are on an organised crime or terrorist watchlist. There is an appeal system. It will take a up to 96 hours for your permission to travel to be authorised but it could take longer if there has to be manual intervention in the system.

Citizens of the EU or the Schengen area will be exempt as will travellers granted permanent residence.

Further to this the European Entry Exit system is also going to be introduced. Travellers who require ETIAS permission will have to supply their fingerprints and eye prints to be recorded by machines at ports, the first time they enter the EU and Schengen area after the system is up and running. This will mean that travellers will be delayed when the system starts up.

It's my opinion that this is bureaucracy gone mad. Airlines and other travel companies will be obliged to stop you from travelling if you do not have ETIAS permission. If you need to travel to a Schengen country quickly to visit a dying relative or urgently do some busines or work you could be stopped from travelling. The governments of Western Europe will have a database recording your every movement in and out of the country. Your days in the Schengen area will automatically be counted, if you overstay your 90 visa free days then the authorities could deport you or or put you on a blacklist. Families could be split up if one of them has an irregularity.

There really is no need for this system. In former days I and some of my work colleagues have crossed borders without showing a passport when we have forgotten them. None of us had criminal records and none of us was a danger to national security. It is my view that more than 99% of people are of no security risk and fewer than 1% of people are terrorists or dangerous criminals. Interpol already has a list of the the worst people and they are on a watch list at the airports etc. My wife and I travel regularly between Britain and France, using the channel tunnel, and we have never seen anyone being asked to leave a coach or car to be arrested despite all the checks. We have also, in former times, crossed the channel without showing passports both ways; no one bothered to look. Now we are delayed in unnecessary queues and we have to double check that we have our passports with us: we and most of our fellow travellers  are not going to wittingly harm anyone in Britain or France.

Further to this Britain will introduce a similar Electronic Travel Authorisation system, or ETA, in 2023 although it is delayed, but a pilot system is operating. This means that our American friends who travel to Europe every year will need and ETIAS permission and an ETA permission to enter the EU and the UK respectively. Our friends have never harmed anyone and do not intend to, so why should they have to bother with cumbersome bureaucracy just to visit Europe and the UK.

It will be a criminal offence to enter Britain without an ETA permission; so watch out if you go to the Republic of Ireland and then cross the open border to Northern Ireland,  for you could be arrested if you are found out  accidently and could then be put in prison! 

Why are governments controlling innocent citizens when the terrorists are entering countries and crossing borders with false passports issued by hostile countries? Finding terrorists is like finding a needle in a haystack; these systems are just making the haystacks bigger.