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.