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Thoughts and Prayers Dep’t
An overcrowded fishing trawler, carrying a reported 750 people, capsized off the coast of Greece last week, killing at least 82 people and leaving hundreds more missing.
There were more than 100 children on board. According to survivors the vessel’s crew members maltreated the Pakistanis who were below deck when they came up in search of fresh water or when they tried to escape. Greece’s caretaker prime minister, Ioannis Sarmas declared three days of national mourning following the disaster saying "with our thoughts on all the victims of the ruthless smugglers who exploit human unhappiness”.
More. “We can assume that many of these children will have lost their lives, as reports of survivors are so far limited. Our deepest sympathies are with the children’s families, and all those affected by this horrendous event,” Unicef said in a statement.
It made the news here in America. For a day or so. After all, they were just migrants.
TWO
Dozens feared drowned after migrant boat sinks off Spain’s Canary Islands
That headline was from yesterday. Authorities have recovered two bodies, including a young girl, but the true number of those who were on board is not known. A day earlier Spanish maritime services rescued 227 other migrants from four boats. This story didn’t really make the news, at least not on Page 1. I had to search to find it. Not important, though. They were just migrants.
THREE
'Praying for miracle'
Alas, no miracle was in the works.
OceanGate's Titan submersible went missing along with the five people inside on June 18 and the subsequent rescue attempts spanned over four days. The operation, which ended in the revelation that the vessel had imploded, will likely have run up a massive bill A number of airplanes, boats, and submersibles were used in the attempts to find out what had happened to the five who went to see the Titanic wreck. These were contributed by a number of countries including the US, Canada, and France.
The five who died were not migrants. Each of them paid $250,000 to spend an hour or two to visit the wreckage of the Titanic. Oceangate’s website advertised the adventure as “a chance to step outside of everyday life and discover something truly extraordinary”. They did just that, but they did it as billionaires.
A NY Times reporter, noting that the contrast between the two disasters had fueled heated discussions, added that “status and race no doubt play a role in how the world responds to such disasters, but there are other factors as well.” The plight of the Thai soccer players was one-of-a-kind, while few people knew of the migrants until they died. He adds, “And in study after study, people show more compassion for the individual victim who can be seen in vivid detail than for a seemingly faceless mass of people.” A small dead child washed up on a beach, making his death impossible to ignore. The deaths of faceless migrants are forgotten quickly, as these events are not one-of-a-kind. They happen frequently. What should not be ignored, however, is the indifference by countries attempting half-hearted rescues vs. the millions of dollars spent to save five very well-to-do wannabe explorers.