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Tragedy at sea – death on the Mediterranean

3 September 2015 16:13 (UTC+04:00)
Tragedy at sea – death on the Mediterranean

By Claude Salhani

Tragedy at sea, death on the Mediterranean. Savagery of the people smugglers; or how more than 400 people – including a number of children died at sea this week – and nobody gives a damn. Yes its horrible, they shrug and take another sip of their latte frappe. Then with a flick of their finger, they move away to a different page, to less depressing news. Meanwhile back in this little corner of the ‘liberated caliphatistan’ that resembles more and more Dante’s Seventh Circle of Hell than the Garden of Eden, people are being grilled over an open flame like chicken on a spit.

And back in the civilized world still no one gives a damn.

Now if they had drowned 400 lions and grilled three zebras, the reaction from the latte frappe sipping gangs would have brought out the masses into the streets on a scale not seen since the WTO convention in Seattle.

Looking at the tragic events unfolding on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea as bodies of ill-fated Middle Eastern and African refugees, including those of children, are washed ashore with the few odds and ends that the sea rejects everyday, it is hard to find words that will do justice to the obscenity of these scenes.

What makes these images so powerful is not just the sad stories they relate, that of families, young children, of a young boy who died among some 400 people – just this week.

What makes these images so powerful is the long narrative that brought them to this end.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, in this case the images in question tell a number of stories and are worth several tens of thousands of words. Some of the dramatic photos could be compared to paintings by the masters. So emotionally charged that its practically impossible to put a price on.

The graphic harshness of the images, almost pornographic, although there is no bare skin. In fact the refugees probably had all there best clothes on in case they lost their luggage.

The first reaction to one of these photos is the impact of the tragedy. It speaks volumes. It speaks of the tragedy of the moment. It speaks of the boy’s final moments. It speaks of fear. The fear as the craft the young boy was traveling in, capsized.

The image tells of the fall into the dark and cold waters, presumably his struggle to stay alive and then the end, a minute or maybe a bit more or perhaps slightly less…if he was lucky in his ill-fated end.

Then there is another story too; what led this boy – and thousands before him and the thousands more who will follow after him regardless of the obstacles and the dangers.

What twisted circumstances led this unfortunate young lad to his premature death? Just how desperate were his family’s situation? Were they simply running from the madness of the war?

How badly did they need to get away from their home country to accept such a dangerous crossing of the sea? Just how bad was it for them back home? The lack of a predictable future. Were they running for political, religious or economic reasons? Was it the lack of jobs or the lack of respect for human rights led them to flee? That in itself is yet another tragedy.

Then there is the tragedy of the people who allow this to happen. Politicians, leaders and all those latte frappe sipping bunch, who don’t give a damn -, unless Cedric the lion is being hunted. Too bad it wasn’t the “other lion” who gets on a boat to emigrate and leave the country he helped destroy.

-- One latte frappe to go please.

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