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Lampedusa tragedy big shame to Africa

The Observer - THURSDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2013 Editorial International news headlines over the last couple of days have been partly dominated by the tragedy of immigrants, mainly from Africa, dying en masse in a desperate bid to reach

The Observer – THURSDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2013

Editorial

International news headlines over the last couple of days have been partly dominated by the tragedy of immigrants, mainly from Africa, dying en masse in a desperate bid to reach Europe.

Just over a week ago, a ship carrying immigrants from Libya en route to Italy capsized near the island of Lampedusa, killing at least 350 people. In the days following that incident, scores of more immigrants have died while hundreds have been rescued from boats heading to Lampedusa, Malta or Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Maltese prime minister captured the tragedy succinctly when he said the Mediterranean Sea was becoming a large cemetery for African immigrants. It is a big shame that Africans have to subject themselves to such extreme dangers in order to reach Europe, which many believe is the biblical Promised Land.

It’s, indeed, a statement about how bad their living conditions are at home, that they must consider such a dangerous option. Apart from countries like Somalia and Syria, where the security situation has been understandably generating refugees, there is no reasonable explanation why a country should produce so many refugees other than mismanagement by such a country’s leaders.

One of the countries with a large representation at Lampedusa is apparently Eritrea, whose citizens appear to be in a hurry to leave every time an opportunity presents itself. Yet this is not about Eritrea, as many Ugandans would jump at the opportunity to leave as well.

What is more straightforward, though, is the direct relationship between bad governance, poverty and insecurity, and a strong desire to flee one’s country no matter the risks involved. Thus a country’s high propensity to generate desperate immigrants says something negative about its leadership.

The head of a home whose children are always looking out for the easiest opportunity to escape is a failed parent. Similarly, the leader of a country whose citizens would rather die on cold foreign seas than stay at home is a failed leader.

Unfortunately Africa has too many of the latter, which is such a shame and a tragedy. Yet the bigger tragedy is that they won’t admit their failures and step aside but they, rather, hang onto their jobs endlessly.

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5 COMMENTS
  • Kombishtato October 17, 2013

    To call a spade a spade, the Lampedusa Tragedy is mainly an Eritrean tragedy. It shows the current image of Eritrea under Issaias Afewrki. It is an image of a nation on its way of becoming another Somalia or Yemen.
    In short, it is an image of a nation joining a Failed State status.

  • Kombishtato October 17, 2013

    This is how La Repubblica reports on one of the events on the Eritrean Lampedusa Tragedy (ELT):

    http://video.repubblica.it/dossier/emergenza-lampedusa-2010/sampieri-i-funerali-di-13-migranti/143182/141717

    —-

  • Hailom Tewolde October 18, 2013

    We Eritreans are failed people (including myself). We have achieved a samll effort that does not relate to the damages we are still suffering! We talk endless like the Amharas or Arabs, but no outcome at all. I would prefer to do nothing instead of bla bla … with no concrete solutions. Do we really want to achieve the Eritrea we have in mind? NO, I don’t think!

    We had at least 36 leaders of the [so-called political] parties whose ambition of each was to be an ISAYAS/leader of Eritrea. Due to a lack of real vision they failed all either willingly or not. What was the problem? I don’t think lack of ability to make a plan how to reach the goal, but probably a dangerous conspiracy aimed to paralize our dream – ERITREA.

    Are we realy dedicated enough to get rid of the dictator? Let us be honest to ourselves!
    Our experience with the so-called opposition groups in the last decades was so miserable und irration as well that I doubt whether we are in a state to bring a CHANGE in Eritrea! In the whole struggle/Gedli Era were thousands of our people perished in undescribable ways, After the so-called independence the main think the regime has produced is suffer, death and refugees like no other country in the world.

    Though we know the cause, we the opportunist Eritreans prefer even not to mention the serious problems we have. Even the number of PFDJ members is shrinking world wide not only Eritrea with now full of Tigraians who protect the dicrtator.

    The tragedies in Sinai, Lampadusa, Sahara,…etc are only few of the symptoms of the ‘biblical Promised’ desaster comimg upon us, if we only watch and do nothing.

    Wake up!

  • H.K October 18, 2013

    I am sorry to say that this case has several dimentions.
    1- The failure of the state of Eritrea is not anything we can agree less!! The Mafia group of Higdef with the sole operator Iseyas has failed us.
    2- We failed to react. We are practically numbed!!!
    3- The ICC the AU and the UN should interefre in such situations. They should give him a worning!!

    Dear brothers and sisters we should start to act now before it is too late!!!

    Awet ni hizbi Eritrea!
    Widket Nigugile Hisem!!

  • Haben October 19, 2013

    It’s already too late. Most eritreans lost their zeal. Our enemies are not from w/in mainly. All the sacrifice for a deluded drunken sot whose Er identity is even in question. Forget about the hapless and spineless so called opposition who frequent the cafes and bars of other’s capital cities. Too comfy and too lazy even to move safe for the incessant exercise of their ever sharp tongues. Atse Issays will even rule from the grave as a ghost. He is now ruling as drunk and half in comma, the only malarial scar from 30 years in bush as a ‘fighter’.

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