We must endeavour to end migrant tragedies

Although the captain of the ‘coffin ship’, in which more than 700 refugees perished, has been arrested, this will mean nothing if the source of the problem is not addressed.

These ships are rarely seaworthy and bring to mind the desperate attempts of the Aliyah Bet (rescue attempt) led in large part by Robert Briscoe, to transport desperate Jewish refugees across the Mediterranean to escape Hitler’s persecution in the ’30s and ’40s. These vessels became known as ‘coffin ships’ as they often sank. However, just as today’s refugees face the same terrible dangers, the prospect of staying in their homes only to be murdered drove these vulnerable people to undertake the hazardous sea journey.

Another commonality between the Jewish refugees of Nazi Germany and today’s victims of persecution, is the seeming indifference of first-world political actors to their plight.