Nobody is denying the awfulness of the recent news of around 1000 migrants drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Every year, thousands of migrants make this risky journey from Libya to Italy in pursuit of a better, more peaceful life, whilst at the same time many also end up meeting their deaths at sea.
This year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the composition of the latter group is at least 30 times higher than it was in 2014. What’s important, however, is that we do not see the people who have lost their lives as mere statistics or, as has been so insensitively exemplified by Ed Miliband, as a means of securing some last-minute votes in time for the upcoming election. Conservative MPs have accused the leader of the Labour Party of implying that the current Prime Minister is largely responsible for the rise in the number of migrant deaths. In a recent briefing Ed Miliband claimed, “David Cameron was wrong to assume that Libya was a country whose institutions could be left to evolve and transform on their own.”
He went on to say, “The tragedy is that this could have been anticipated. It should have been avoided.” Well, yes, Miliband is in many ways right here. The tragedy could have been avoided from the time he decided it would be a wise idea to support the UN-authorised air strikes against Gaddafi, which is where things start to get a tad awkward for this PM-wannabe. To be fair to Ed Miliband, he had good intentions. He believed that voting in favour of these air strikes would prevent the threatened massacre of Libyan citizens in Benghazi. Whilst they were certainly successful in helping to bring down the Gaddafi regime, the country has ended up descending into utter disarray, forcing many to flee from their homeland and make the often-fatal journey to Europe. Of course, now that we have this serious issue on our hands (note the deliberate use of the word ‘our’), we need to begin to invest in ways of ensuring that rescue operations are at their optimum in order to prevent a further 1000 deaths during the heavy migratory season.
I agree with Labour in taking the stance that the European community – which includes the UK – must initiate such a course of action, no matter their unwillingness to open up their borders to more immigrants. >However, it is extremely suspicious that Ed Miliband would choose to raise the urgency of such decision-making now, despite the fact that he has had four years worth of Prime Minister’s Questions to bring up the issue (which, might I add, he failed to do).
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He did this despite the even more telling fact that reversing the EU’s policy on the decrease of rescue boats is nowhere to be found in Labour’s election manifesto.
The party has instead been focused on appealing to the more, let’s face it, xenophobic portion of the electorate through its promises to control immigration. It appears Labour have dug themselves a hole regarding their migrant policy. When interviewed on Channel 4, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed, “It was wrong to withdraw from the European search and rescue programme and I think that needs to be started as soon as possible.” It would certainly be wrong to argue that Europe does not have a moral duty to improve rescue operations. Nevertheless, when asked whether, if elected into power, the party would be willing to send British ships to rescue migrants, Cooper dodged the question by simply re-iterating the need for the European system to be restored.
Similarly, when interviewed on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, Miliband refused to disclose the number of Libyan migrants he would allow into the country, stating that he was not going “to pluck figures out of the air”.Clearly, this inclusive, all-accepting party is afraid of admitting their willingness to admit more African migrants into the country.
Former Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, claimed, “Miliband is trying to weaponise drowning migrants.” Sadly I have to agree. The convenient timing of his remarks and yet the lack of commitment to concrete change is telling of a politician in election-mode.Instead of the tragedy of the man politicising migrant deaths, candidates need to stop thinking about the possibility of losing the election, and rather think about a much graver possibility. The possibility of losing thousands more lives at sea.
