Sea Cemetery: Almost 2,000 People Died Or Disappeared In Mediterranean Waters In 2021
In the year 2021, a shocking total of 1,971 people died or disappeared within Mediterranean waters.
The figure was unveiled yesterday during a remembrance ceremony held for those that have died, gone missing, or became victims of enforced disappearance in their journey seeking safety, where a number of organisations and individuals gathered by the harbour in Senglea.
“Today, we join people across the world to strongly denounce the deadly violence of the world’s border regimes and call on responsible authorities to respect human rights, international law and the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention, and to act humanely to prevent deaths and disappearance of lives,” Moviment Graffitti said in a press release.
“The Mediterranean remains one of the world’s deadliest migratory routes yet time and time again, we witness Maltese authorities looking away from their duties to protect the lives of people seeking asylum in our search and rescue zone,” it said.
The UNHCR says that over the past decade, the number of people who have died in transit over the Mediterranean exceeded 23,000
The event was one of many taking place to mark the Global Day of ‘CommemorAction’ where people stand in solidarity with the relatives of those who died or disappeared along migratory routes and call for action to prevent this from happening again.
“It is an established fact that Maltese authorities collaborate with the Libyan Coastguard in illegal push-backs. We regularly read reports of Malta ignoring distress calls and refusing disembarkation to the rescued. We witness asylum seekers being subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment,” it explained.
“We call on authorities to remember that saving lives at sea is a legal and moral obligation,” it continued.
“We call on EU institutions to offer strong assistance measures to ensure Malta and the other Member States can offer the safety and dignity migratory peoples are entitled to,” it continued.
“Human rights law and international law bind the state to safeguard the right to seek asylum and to treat asylum seekers with respect and dignity at every stage of the process.”
The organisation also sought to remind authorities that these people are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and children with names.
The action was supported by 36 local organisations, including aditus, MGRM, OASI Foundation, Repubblika and Richmond Foundation.
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