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The Guardian view on danger at sea: The contrast between the frantic hunt for a missing submersible and the failure to save migrants drowning in the Mediterranean is illuminating (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 year ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/news@beehaw.org

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A massive operation is under way to find and save a stricken vessel and its passengers. As time passes, anxious families and friends wait with growing fear. The US coastguard, Canadian armed forces and commercial vessels are all hunting for the Titan submersible, which has gone missing with five aboard on a dive to the wreck of the Titanic in the north Atlantic. The UK’s Ministry of Defence is also monitoring the situation.

It is hard to think of a starker contrast with the response to a fishing boat which sank in the Mediterranean last week with an estimated 750 people, including children, packed onboard. Only about 100 survived, making this one of the deadliest disasters in the Mediterranean. Greece and the EU blame people smugglers, who overcrowd boats and abuse those aboard them. But both have profound questions to answer about their own role in such disasters. Activists say authorities were repeatedly warned of the danger this boat faced, hours before it went down, but failed to act.

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[–] alyaza@beehaw.org 53 points 1 year ago (2 children)

i fail to see why one being legal and one being illegal[^1] should have any bearing on the response or treating the people with basic human dignity. committing a crime also does not make one worthy of death--and especially not when that crime is one without a victim like illegal immigration.

[^1]: and i don't think the latter should be illegal (certainly not meaningfully so), to be clear. i am morally opposed to the idea of hard borders.

[–] Scribbd@feddit.nl 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I agree with you. And I do understand why, and I don't like it:

I think it is more about the profile of the people in need.

Wasn't there a billionaire on board of that vessel? Their family probably got some influence to force this massive operation. And we idolize these big money havers.

And what money do the immigrants have? It is an ongoing issue for the EU (as an example). It looks like the EU doesn't even want these people. Sure, they begrudgingly accept people, when they arrive. Sure there is an effort to safe them... But if some are lost on the way. Less mouth to feed.

Once again: my pessimistic observations. Personally, I feel ashamed of this whole thing.

[–] cnnrduncan@beehaw.org 13 points 1 year ago

The Titan sub has a dude who went to space with the Amazon guy along with two members of one of Pakistan's richest families who are heavily involved in a petrochemical company.

[–] kool_newt@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

Fucking agree so hard.