We have to help genuine refugees as best we can and at the source of the problem as much as possible but we also have to accept that we can't save the all the world's needy and vulnerable. Neither can we carry on allowing hundreds of thousands of economic migrants to simply choose to come to the EU for a better life no matter how sorry we may feel for them.
More could and should be done to deal with the traffickers who're making vast sums exploiting these people and think nothing of sending them to their deaths once they've been paid. No doubt they paint a rather different picture of their intentions before they get the money and things go down hill rapidly thereafter.
I don't envy the authorities dealing with this problem - it's massive and the traffickers can often react to opportunities far quicker than they can. We're never going to be able to stop the flow entirely but we do need to adopt new measures which will both dissuade economic migrants and ensure they can be and are removed so that the message slowly gets out that there is no easy life to be had and we will not be 'blackmailed' or 'coerced' into admitting people just because they want to come here. That may well require changes in international law and to human rights legislation.
Like it or not, the Australians have to a large extent solved what was a growing problem there by being tough on migrants whether economic or refugees. That is sad, especially for the genuine refugees, but who can really say that they should just allow themselves to become the destination of choice for the region's countless millions of needy and desperate people?
Whatever people think we should do one thing is undeniable, we can't help everyone who needs it or would like a better life. Rather like a life boat saving people at sea, the only question is at what point are we forced to say no more...
