MIGRANT shipwrecks are a result of European policy failures, rights campaigners warned yesterday after the bodies of seven people were discovered on the north-east coast of Lesbos.
The Greek coastguard said that the bodies were found early on Tuesday morning near the island’s main town of Mytilene.
It is suspected that they died as a result of a boat capsizing, but no signs of a shipwreck or a distress call were found.
At least four people were reported to have died or gone missing in the Eastern Mediterranean since the beginning of the year, according to the Missing Migrants Project.
Douglas Herman, co-founder of Refocus Media Labs which works on the ground to equip migrants with media skills, said that the incident was “truly straight out of a film.”
He told the Star: “Finding a dead body washed ashore used to force the world to gasp and then take action.
“But now we see nothing besides Greek and Turkish leaders blaming each other for the tragedy and civil action groups having no ability to do more than arrange candle vigils.
“These seven are not alone, this is not an isolated incident.
“And these shipwrecks are not accidents as reported, rather they are the obvious result of failed asylum and migration policies that the entire European block is responsible for.
“But instead of moments of action, all we get are too many moments of silence.”
Campaign group Alarm Phone also said the deaths were a direct consequence of the EU’s “deterrence regime,” tweeting: “Abolish this deadly regime — freedom of movement needs to be a right for all!”
And No Border Kitchen wrote: “With everybody focused on the situation in Ukraine it is important not to forget people are still dying as a result of other wars that are equally destructive.”
BY: CEREN SAGIR
Source: Morning star
