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By Ramzy Baroud
Fadi, a Syrian teenager, with curly hair and an acne-covered face, has miraculously survived one of many biggest migrant boat disasters within the trendy historical past of the Mediterranean.
Solely 104 folks have been rescued from a ship that carried an estimated 750 refugees after it capsized on June 13 within the open sea close to the coastal city of Pylos.
Scores of lifeless our bodies have been pulled out from the water, and plenty of extra have washed ashore. Tons of are nonetheless lacking, feared lifeless, a lot of whom are ladies and kids, as they huddled on the decrease deck of the 30-meter boat.
Fadi survived. A heart-rending photograph exhibits the younger Syrian sobbing as he met his older brother, Mohammed, who rushed to the port of Kalamata, Greece, to see him. The 2 brothers couldn’t embrace, as Fadi was nonetheless trapped behind metallic gates in a confinement made for the survivors.
The newest boat catastrophe tells a a lot larger story than the sympathetic information headlines tried to convey. It’s a story of battle, poverty, inequality and despair.
The identification of those that died at sea offers us clues to the origins of the story. They had been Syrians, Palestinians, Afghans and extra. These refugees had been in search of security, coveting mere survival.
The unhappy irony is that the most recent episode of this seemingly limitless horror occurred precisely one week earlier than the United Nations was set to ‘have a good time’ World Refugee Day, held on June 20 of every yr.
Most references to at the present time by the UN, UN-related organizations and worldwide charities world wide appear to emphasise empowerment and positivity. An announcement by the UN Refugees Company (UNHCR) spoke of “honoring the refugees across the globe” and referenced Refugee Day as one which “celebrates the power and braveness” of refugees.
The contradictions of the discourses pertaining to the refugees needs to be too apparent to overlook. However we frequently do. Too many lavish dinners will probably be catered within the title of the refugees in lots of Western capitals and embassies world wide. Diplomats will demand motion, and well-paid intellectuals will enunciate the ethical and moral tasks of governments and civil societies. Many will clap and quite a few enterprise playing cards will probably be exchanged. However little will change.
Over 23,000 refugees have drowned or gone lacking whereas making an attempt to achieve European shores between 2014 and 2022. The actual quantity is predicted to be a lot increased as there are not any official data of how many individuals embark on these lethal journeys within the first place. “We’ve got lots of of data of our bodies which are washed as much as Mediterranean shores once we don’t know of any identified shipwreck,” Julia Black of the Worldwide Group for Migration informed the BBC’s Immediately Program.
The identification of the victims – Syrians, Palestinians, Afghans, Sudanese … – ought to have been a serious clue as to why folks take such horrible dangers, solely to achieve European international locations, the place they endure nice hardships, together with racial discrimination, simply to outlive.
But, we hardly confront the actual culprits behind all of this: weapon producers and army interventionists, and political meddlers who provoke and/or exacerbate conflicts. These people and governments see the Center East, Africa and the remainder of the World South as mere area for geopolitical rivalries, low-cost uncooked supplies and human and financial exploitation.
However when the end result of such dreadful insurance policies ends in the least irritant to the socioeconomic materials of Western societies, determined refugees turn into villains, to be shunned, ignored, imprisoned, and deported.
In actuality, world refugees, estimated at over 100 million, should not ‘celebrated’, however principally vilified. They’re seen as a burden, not a chance to confront and repair the underlying issues, outdated and new, that led to their unique displacement.
Whereas visiting Tunisia on June 11, together with far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the President of the European Fee, Ursula Von Der Leyen, was adamant about rebranding the tragedy of refugees as one thing else completely.
Of their joint assertion, the high-ranking European politicians vowed to interrupt “the cynical enterprise mannequin of smuggler(s)” as a result of “it’s horrible to see how they (the smugglers) intentionally danger human lives for revenue.” Contemplating that the arms business is one in every of Europe’s most thriving enterprise fashions, one can not assist however pause on the irony of such remarks.
No different collective experiences illustrate Western complicity as that of the Palestinian folks. 1000’s of them have perished whereas escaping for his or her lives from Israel’s horrific wars and sieges. They had been dying in giant numbers as quickly as Zionist militants started the systematic ethnic cleaning of Palestine in 1947-48.
But, after 75 years of such struggling and ache, western international locations proceed to do all the things of their energy to help Israel and disempower – even blame – Palestinians.
Certainly, those that are actually all in favour of commemorating World Refugee Day ought to totally fathom the protracted Palestinian refugee expertise to really perceive the place the issue truly lies.
On a current journey to Turkiye, I met with many Palestinian refugees, principally from Gaza, whose households had been additionally made refugees by Israel in 1948, and once more in 1967. These principally younger individuals are anxiously awaiting the chance to cross the ocean into Greece, then to different European international locations seeking work.
Mohammed B. informed me that he had tried 9 instances to achieve Greece. “The final time I used to be caught. I used to be severely crushed and left for lifeless in a darkish forest,” he stated, “however I’ll strive once more.”
Mohammed’s uncle was killed by Israel in the course of the First Intifada; a number of members of his household died as a result of lack of medication within the besieged Strip, and practically 35 family members, principally kids, stay in a three-bedroom home that was bombed by Israel on two separate events.
Mohammed, and tens of millions like him, should not the villains. They’re the victims.
For World Refugee Day to matter, it should tackle the basis causes of such complicated and ongoing issues. Solely an sincere and deep understanding can function a place to begin for a significant dialog and, hopefully, significant actions.
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He’s the creator of six books. His newest ebook, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is “Our Imaginative and prescient for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Converse out”. Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Analysis Fellow on the Middle for Islam and World Affairs (CIGA). His web site is www.ramzybaroud.web
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