Can E.U. Shift Migrant Crisis to the Source? In Libya, the Odds Are Long
At the European Union summit, pledged to fund and train the Libyan coast guard as a strategy to stifle Europe’s migration crisis. Italians recently trained 89 officers in the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept and rescue migrant boats in Libyan waters bound for Europe. In addition to funding and training the Libyan Coast Guard, Italy has agreed to provide needed resources and set up migrant holding centers in Libya. More than 180,000 Libyans crossed the Mediterranean into Italy last year and nearly 5,000 migrants died trying. Just this week, the bodies of more than 70 migrants washed up on the shore of Libya after smugglers removed the boat’s engine.
The UN-backed Libyan government is on the verge of collapse and many are skeptical of the operation since much of the Libyan coastline is under the control of militant and criminal groups. Furthermore, human rights groups argue that migrants are trying to flee threats of violence and dangerous living conditions and sending them back to Libya will only further escalate the humanitarian crisis.
Was this initiative set up to fail? Thousands of migrants make the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to seek a better life, but it seems as though their lives are never considered.