[Osem]

Originally Posted by Anypermitedroute

Not sure it's anything legal as its international waters, it's more about humane thing todo rather than watch them drown

Yes it is the more humane thing to do but at what point does the humane thing we do become the draw factor which causes increasing numbers of desperate people to take their chances?

Like it or not we all have limits to our generosity and most people's might be making a few charity donations and posting a few messages in places like this from time to time. What prevents us doing more? Giving more? Let's face it most of us aren't living in abject poverty and could quite easily give and do more for charities which support poverty stricken people in places like Africa so why don't we? Why don't we do more to stop these people trekking thousands of miles to get in leaky boats, that'd be the really humane thing to do wouldn't it?

The reason 99% of the population don't go down that route is that whilst they have sympathy for the plight of refugees and migrants, that sympathy only goes so far and is usually limited to supporting measures which cost us little and won't directly affect us. So on the one hand people like to make a lot of noise about refugees and migrants but, when push comes to shove, there's almost always little else forthcoming and God forbid HMG wants to open a hostel for refugees and migrants anywhere near them...

If we're going to be humane and drag people out of the sea, why not do the logical thing and just assist them all to come here in the first place? As many as want to come because they're all desperate and all have a case for a better life so if we don't bring them all the trek to Libya will continue. No, we should send large ships and/or planes to the places these people, load them up and bring them here. That'd save so many more lives wouldn't it so why aren't any of us suggesting our govts. do just that? I submit it's because we quite like making ourselves feel a bit better through the odd charity donation but don't really want our way of life and living standards to be significantly impinged upon. We're quite prepared to be shocked by images of bodies in the surf but we're not prepared to intervene directly. The very same reason we may offer a tramp some food or money from time to time but don't invite him to stay in our spare bedroom or even a tent in our garden.

The sad fact is that either we change our approach to this problem or we're going to get swamped to the point that increasing civil unrest will ensue just like it already is in those places worst affected by the existing migrant/refugee problem. If that sounds tough well it is because at the end of the day that's what people do - they defend themselves, their loved ones, their homes and their way of life. It's all very well people like Merkel welcoming migrants but did she ask her people first? Did she concern herself with what they thought? She opened the gates and, surprise surprise, the people came and kept coming. They kept coming through other people's countries causing them huge problems in the process and stirring up a whole lot of tension and unrest. Now they are here in vast numbers and realising that life isn't anything like what they'd hoped. They're realising that most of them will probably have to struggle for many years and a good number may well be asked to return to the places they so desperately left. Is that humane? Maybe for you it is but how are the migrants who gambled everything for that better life in the EU going to see it? How do you think they'll react? How on Earth are the powers that be going to manage the massive problem they have created and have done precious little to solve?

IMHO this is analogous to those situations in the past when at the scene of disasters, rescue ships have had to turn back for fear of being overloaded. A most awful scenario we'll all agree but unless we do something to stop the huge flow of migrants at source and persuade these people there is no easy life just the other side of the Med, tough measures are going to be inevitable.

That won't be the end of the problem, however, because the millions of migrants and refugees who've already made it here will still have to be accommodated and successfully integrated. Despite all the fine words of the out of touch Eurocrats, very few countries, especially the poorer nations, are going to take them so how are we going to stop the creation of the sort of migrant 'ghettos' which have already made Brussels, for example, a dangerous place and hotbed for terrorism?...