In Chapter 4 of his book, Lucht (2012) reminisces the experience of African refugees on the so-called “Mediterranean passage,” or the sea route that helps refugees access European countries. The central message of this chapter is the sheer horror of uncertainty people experience when they risk their lives to cross the border. Earlier in the book, Samuel, one of the central narrators, claims that facing a life-or-death choice is better than accepting the fate of slow and painful destruction in Ghana (Lucht, 2012). In continuation of his story, Samuel says that the choice to move from Libya to Italy by the sea was inspired by the experiences of people who managed to cross the border. One of the central messages of this chapter, in my opinion, is rendered through the quote of the passage survivor: “We don’t know who’ll pick us up. Maybe they’ll kill us. We don’t know” (Lucht, 2012, p. 157). Francis vividly remembers the terrifying images of killed illegal immigrants whose bodies were floating in the open sea when saying this. Hence, this chapter emphasizes the struggle and pain of immigrants incomprehensible by European residents creating arbitrary regulations for border “hotspots.”
The scope of African emigration remains unprecedented for decades, as people continue to flee from civil conflicts, poverty, famine, and humanitarian crises. Although European countries nowadays acknowledge the issue and provide relief missions for the African community, the efforts cannot prevent the catastrophe from happening. As a result, instead of putting more thought into saving the lives of millions of Africans, global authorities willingly accept the responsibility of deciding the immigrants’ fates in the Mediterranean. Hence, the question is whether the global leaders are, in fact, willing to help refugees, or they are focused on gaining control and advantage over desperate and hopeless people.
Reference
Lucht, H. (2012). Darkness before darkness before daybreak: African migrants living on the margins in southern Italy today. University of California Press.