Tag Archives: boat people

Boat People

A member of my small, mostly expatriate Christian church in the north African nation of Tunisia became a boat person. He was a destitute Nigerian, a Christian, and found his way to Tunis to wait until he could pay a smuggler to take him to Italy. One Sunday he did not appear in church. Word came that he had reached Italy safely. He had broken the law, yet how could we not rejoice for our friend’s safety and hope for a new life?

Boat people appear in our news every few years. After the Vietnamese war, multitudes of boat people rushed to escape. Cubans took to boats to reach Florida. Haitians came, too. Recently, many Central American children flooded across the southern border of the United States on foot.

Now Europe is in the news as growing numbers of boat people from North Africa and the Middle East attempt to reach Europe. Thousands drown when crowded, unsafe boats capsize.

The best way to deal with the problems of mass migration is obviously to reduce the circumstances that lead people to risk their lives in hope of a better life.

Wars almost always produce refugees. The first lesson might be: Do not go to war unless the war is unequivocally caused by a threat to the nation. The war that the United States fought in Iraq is not the only reason for the following turmoil in the Middle East, but it certainly contributed.

Corrupt governments ruled by elites, where ordinary citizens barely survive, feed mass migration as well. Rich nations have an obligation to consider carefully their development and military aid to such regimes. Supporting them comes at a steep price.

 

Multitudes Versus One-at-a-Time

News stories first reported the large number of Tunisians fleeing their country’s instability. The mostly young Tunisians attempt to cross the Mediterranean in boats to reach Europe. The reports now include Libyans. By the time you read this, other nationalities may be added. Some Europeans fear being overwhelmed by tides of seekers after a better life as many North African and Middle Eastern countries experience turmoil. We are reminded of the boat people from Cuba and Haiti in this hemisphere. Or, other boat people from Vietnam fleeing to more stable Asian nations.

In one of my stories, Kate, a young American thrust into a job in the Middle East, becomes aware of such needs. She is part of a sting operation to halt the illegal entry of young South Asian men into the United States. In recounting the success of the operation, she tells another character, “… they all looked so terrified. They began running in…different directions. … we can’t let them all into the U.S., can we? There are too many of them. But they’re not criminals or anything. They’re only looking for a job. What’s the answer?”

The story doesn’t give “the answer” in so many words. However, Kate later helps an abused maid return to her country with a relief agency job that might help her poverty-stricken village. The desperate needs of so many overwhelm us if we do not keep in mind that people are helped one at a time.