Migrants toss dozens of dead comrades overboard

[JODO 2]

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Dozens of migrants trying to reach Europe spent three weeks at sea off West Africa's coast and threw nearly 50 bodies overboard after their vessel lost power and supplies dwindled, officials said Tuesday.

Would this be considered dead weight?

That is not up to anyone to judge . It is a sad story.

Yes it is sad that the African continent has so many man made problems and despots.

[Peikko 1,575]

Sadly, that is also true. However, the real solution isn't closing borders, but addressing the reasons behind economic migration. Of course we all know that no single government can afford to take on global poverty it, has to be a global effort. So far there does not seem to be a collective will to try to solve these problems, and therein lies the biggest tragedy.

[Sprailenes 47]

Oh I would love to say something but I been running in circles all day saying the same thing. But I think you hit the nail on the head there hibiscus.

[yassmine2878 1]

It _is_ a sad story. Hubster tells me there is quite a problem with people coming into Morocco from some of the southern African countries so they can attempt to swim the nine-mile gap between the north of Morocco and Spain.

[no name 1]

Why is it so hard to grasp? Some countries are rich, some are not. Some have people starving. Some do not. It sucks but we can't just offer a free home to anyone who wants to come.

VJ *&^@$*&$#%$ Sheesh.

[Sprailenes 47]

Not saying we should offer anyone a free home.

Why is it so hard to grasp that as developed nations I think we need to take some responsibility and help others.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Why is it so hard to grasp? Some countries are rich, some are not. Some have people starving. Some do not. It sucks but we can't just offer a free home to anyone who wants to come.

VJ *&^@$*&$#%$ Sheesh.

So we should accept massive economic inequalities between the developed and developing world as inevitable, unstoppable and not worth doing anything about?

It doesn't take much to realise that if people are risking their lives to escape persecution, war or famine - that there is something seriously wrong in their country.

As to whether its inevitable, it may be to an extent - but that shouldn't absolve us of our own responsibilities; or indeed the realisation that as much as our military secures and protects our national interests around the globe, many developed countries (including the US) are profiting in other ways from 3rd world debt. You can't develop your national infrastructure if you're shelling out money hand over fist to pay for loans taken out years by the previous, dictatorial government.

[Jasman0717 9]

How sad

[Leedah 22]

I just had to comment on this post since it REALLY hit home.

My husband as well as my children from a previous marriage are Gambian. I traveled to Senegal and to Gambia on a regular basis and I get to see first hand the actual boats that the people travel on when they take to the sea. I have also seen some boats taking off under the cover of darkness when I am at the beach some nights.

But let me give you all a inside glance into what can propel a person to risk their life to get a "better life".

First and foremost, it is not simply due to poverty. You see, the society in these countries are MUCH different from western cultures. Whereas we (the American public) pride ourselves on being independent, getting a college degree and being successful INDEPENDENT of "helping hands", the cultures in this story pride themselves on being able to provide for their WHOLE family. Most of the time, it is ONE person that is having to provide food (3 times a day), clothing, shoes, book materials for the children, rent, utilities, etc for sometimes up to 18 people or more. Can YOU ALONE handle this task CONSISTENTLY without complaint? To top it off, it is usually the eldest male boy who is responsible for the whole family (even if the father is their helping also). Also, if the boy is not able to do all of this, he is looked upon as a failure to his family. So, when you couple this with the inevitable depression that comes with living in this poverty stricken society, they choose to risk dying to seek help for their family. They reason that if I can not help my family, what good am I to live off them when they have nothing anyway,...therefore it is better to die trying. - These are actual sentiments of people I have talked to while traveling in Gambia.

Personally, I would start educating in the schools first. Many of the idea's that the west is better was purposely put in action waaaaaaay back in slavery times. You can't erase 400 years of mentality overnight. The migrations are a by-product of what happened years ago and it won't stop until people believe their country is just as good as the west. (Think of the analogy "fake it until you make it").

Anyway, hope this sheds light on this issue.

Peace.

[Ta Ta 1]

Thanks Leedah,

People are so quick to judge and do not have a full understanding of what really goes on , all they see is another boat and how someone can joke about it is beyond me.

Lets not forget that the West exploits countries in Africa and feeds off the diamonds and minerals until it is fat.

I assume you are going through Dakar also ?

[HAL 9000 96]

Wow... thanks for the great opinions here. Tragically we see once again with flying colors how racism- in a few cases- and overall ignorance in MOST, constitutes such an anti-humanitarian response that fails to overtly look at the root causes beyond blaming despots that do exist in many cases to directly and indirectly benefit the interests we (and others) so quickly rush to defend with arms and blind ignorance.

As an international leader, we need to step it up. As an independent nation we need to look within and clean house in the process.

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Wow... thanks for the great opinions here. Tragically we see once again with flying colors how racism- in a few cases- and overall ignorance in MOST, constitutes such an anti-humanitarian response that fails to overtly look at the root causes beyond blaming despots that do exist in many cases to directly and indirectly benefit the interests we (and others) so quickly rush to defend with arms and blind ignorance.

As an international leader, we need to step it up. As an independent nation we need to look within and clean house in the process.

and just what do you propose the usa do?

[HAL 9000 96]

Wow... thanks for the great opinions here. Tragically we see once again with flying colors how racism- in a few cases- and overall ignorance in MOST, constitutes such an anti-humanitarian response that fails to overtly look at the root causes beyond blaming despots that do exist in many cases to directly and indirectly benefit the interests we (and others) so quickly rush to defend with arms and blind ignorance.

As an international leader, we need to step it up. As an independent nation we need to look within and clean house in the process.

and just what do you propose the usa do?

Give all our money to the third world, publicly decry all past instances of international foreign policy abuses, and stop enriching ourselves at the expense of the third world.

Just kidding.

What to do?

That is where we need to act like humanitarians, not leaders in self-indulgent arrogance.

In other words, while enforcing immigrant law, leading the way in conditioning monetary aid packages we already give out so as to set actual and reachable benchmarks in economic, educational, and governmental progress. We already condition payments to governments to do things that appease our "interests" by virtue of pulling payments out when they fail to satisfy those same interests. Therefore, an actual humanitarian government in Washington will revamp its philosophy on economic foreign policy by actually being conditional to humanitarian and educational ends.

You can fill in specifics if you wish, but the semantics should fall along "legal, humanitarian, and anti-corrupt" lines of thought.

Heck, you can even make it binding by conditioning foreign aid by stipulating that we'll send in the Marines and Air Force if they use our money to build weapons and armies against their own people of their neighbors. That would appease the gung-ho interventionists around town and make a receiver thing twice about abusing their own people with our money... unlike what some governments have already down with our willing a$$istance and encouragement based on ideology.

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Wow... thanks for the great opinions here. Tragically we see once again with flying colors how racism- in a few cases- and overall ignorance in MOST, constitutes such an anti-humanitarian response that fails to overtly look at the root causes beyond blaming despots that do exist in many cases to directly and indirectly benefit the interests we (and others) so quickly rush to defend with arms and blind ignorance.

As an international leader, we need to step it up. As an independent nation we need to look within and clean house in the process.

and just what do you propose the usa do?

Give all our money to the third world, publicly decry all past instances of international foreign policy abuses, and stop enriching ourselves at the expense of the third world.

Just kidding.

What to do?

That is where we need to act like humanitarians, not leaders in self-indulgent arrogance.

In other words, while enforcing immigrant law, leading the way in conditioning monetary aid packages we already give out so as to set actual and reachable benchmarks in economic, educational, and governmental progress. We already condition payments to governments to do things that appease our "interests" by virtue of pulling payments out when they fail to satisfy those same interests. Therefore, an actual humanitarian government in Washington will revamp its philosophy on economic foreign policy by actually being conditional to humanitarian and educational ends.

You can fill in specifics if you wish, but the semantics should fall along "legal, humanitarian, and anti-corrupt" lines of thought.

Heck, you can even make it binding by conditioning foreign aid by stipulating that we'll send in the Marines and Air Force if they use our money to build weapons and armies against their own people of their neighbors. That would appease the gung-ho interventionists around town and make a receiver thing twice about abusing their own people with our money... unlike what some governments have already down with our willing a$$istance and encouragement based on ideology.

the above sounds like a republican idea....

[HAL 9000 96]

Wow... thanks for the great opinions here. Tragically we see once again with flying colors how racism- in a few cases- and overall ignorance in MOST, constitutes such an anti-humanitarian response that fails to overtly look at the root causes beyond blaming despots that do exist in many cases to directly and indirectly benefit the interests we (and others) so quickly rush to defend with arms and blind ignorance.

As an international leader, we need to step it up. As an independent nation we need to look within and clean house in the process.

and just what do you propose the usa do?

Give all our money to the third world, publicly decry all past instances of international foreign policy abuses, and stop enriching ourselves at the expense of the third world.

Just kidding.

What to do?

That is where we need to act like humanitarians, not leaders in self-indulgent arrogance.

In other words, while enforcing immigrant law, leading the way in conditioning monetary aid packages we already give out so as to set actual and reachable benchmarks in economic, educational, and governmental progress. We already condition payments to governments to do things that appease our "interests" by virtue of pulling payments out when they fail to satisfy those same interests. Therefore, an actual humanitarian government in Washington will revamp its philosophy on economic foreign policy by actually being conditional to humanitarian and educational ends.

You can fill in specifics if you wish, but the semantics should fall along "legal, humanitarian, and anti-corrupt" lines of thought.

Heck, you can even make it binding by conditioning foreign aid by stipulating that we'll send in the Marines and Air Force if they use our money to build weapons and armies against their own people of their neighbors. That would appease the gung-ho interventionists around town and make a receiver thing twice about abusing their own people with our money... unlike what some governments have already down with our willing a$$istance and encouragement based on ideology.

the above sounds like a republican idea....

I prefer to call it a humanitarian one. Plenty of politicians, Dem or Rep, will say anything to get elected. Whether or not they act out is a whole other ballgame. Don't get caught in Bush's Benchmarks since its clearly relevant they went nowhere in the Middle East.

Now, republican from the point of view of inspiring democracy and a sense of a real republic around the world... well... now that would be a republican idea.