By now, I am sure that most of us are at least aware of the submersible which imploded on its journey to the bottom of the Atlantic in its quest to view the wreckage of the Titanic, another example of a maritime disaster. Most of us have an opinion on this story and have determined that this was a sad story, driven either by hubris of a crew of wreckless entrepreneurs or by a naïve curiosity of an elite set of "tourists" who could afford the price of admission, regardless of the risk involved.
But, how many of us have heard of the other disaster which occurred, in the Mediterranean Sea? This was not an adventure of discovery, but more of a life-or-death venture where the value of one's life did not figure into the "cost" of the trip, but into whether one might continue to live in today's world.
Is there a difference in the value of one's life between the 2 stories? Given the value of the media's coverage, I guess one would think that the submersible's passengers lives were worth more? I mean, how many are even aware of the second story? Was the value of the lives lost in the sinking in the Mediterranean less than those who were privileged to descend to the Atlantic's floor? Given the media's attention, one could easily assume so. To be honest, I don't know. I guess it is a by-product of what we are exposed to on a daily basis and what the media tells us we should be concerned with, as sad as that is. But, there are only so many minutes available in any newscast, right? Which story will bring the most clicks seems to be the order of the day, as sad as that may seem. But that is where we are.
I only cite the above to use as something to chew on. What is more important to us in today's world? The lives of the elite, or the lives of those who strive to make it from day-to-day? What does our pro-life crowd think?
Anyway, here is the second story that did receive short shrift on the news coverage compared to the submersible story, for those who may not have been aware of these people's plight.
The story of how as many as 750 migrants came to board a rickety blue fishing trawler and end up in one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwrecks is bigger than any one of the victims. But for everyone, it started somewhere, and for Thaer Khalid al-Rahal it started with cancer.The leukemia diagnosis for his youngest son, 4-year-old Khalid, came early last year. The family had been living in a Jordanian refugee camp for a decade, waiting for official resettlement after fleeing Syria’s bitter war, and doctors said the United Nations’ refugee agency could help cover treatment costs. But agency funds dwindled and the child’s case worsened. When doctors said Khalid needed a bone-marrow transplant, the father confided in relatives that waiting to relocate through official channels was no longer an option. He needed to get to Europe to earn money and save his son.“Thaer thought he didn’t have a choice,” said his cousin, Abdulrahman Yousif al-Rahal, reached by phone in the Jordanian refugee camp of Zaatari.
At least 79 dead, hundreds missing in year’s deadliest wreck off Greece
On Matloob’s earlier journey to Europe, he had been so scared of the water that he kept his eyes closed the whole time. This time, the smugglers promised him they would take him to Italy. They said they would use “a good boat.”The trawler left from the Libyan port city of Tobruk on June 8. Just 104 survivors have reached the Greek mainland. Eighty-two bodies have been recovered, and hundreds more have been swallowed by the sea.
As the Mediterranean became a stage for tragedy on June 14, a billionaire and several businessmen were preparing for their own voyage in the North Atlantic. The disappearance of their submersible as it dove toward the wreckage of the Titanic sparked a no-expenses-spared search-and-rescue mission and rolling headlines. The ship packed with refugees and migrants did not.
In missing submersible and migrant disaster, a tale of two Pakistans
About half the passengers are believed to have been from Pakistan. The country’s interior minister said Friday that an estimated 350 Pakistanis were on board, and that many may have died. Of the survivors from the boat, 47 are Syrian, 43 Egyptian, 12 Pakistani and two Palestinian.Some of the people on the trawler were escaping war. Many were family breadwinners, putting their own lives on the line to help others back home. Some were children. A list of the missing from two towns in the Nile Delta carries 43 names. Almost half of them are under 18 years old.This account of what pushed them to risk a notoriously dangerous crossing is based on interviews with survivors in Greece and relatives of the dead in Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt, as the news sent ripples of distress throughout communities from North Africa to South Asia. Some people spoke on the condition of anonymity, because they feared being drawn into government crackdowns on human smuggling networks.Thaer Khalid al-Rahal boarded the trawler in hopes of getting to Europe and earning money to save his sick son.
Rahal’s family said they do not know how he contacted the smugglers in Libya, but remember watching as he creased under the fatigue and shame of having to ask anyone he could for the thousands of dollars they were requesting for safe passage to Italy.
Greek and E.U. policies under scrutiny after devastating shipwreck
Thirteen men left from El Na’amna village, south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in the hope of achieving the same. Ten miles away in Ibrash, another village, Abdelnasser left the house as he usually did for his 2 a.m. factory shift but joined a packed car to Libya instead, along with 29 other young men and boys. “He told us nothing,” said his father, Amr. “We would have stopped him.”
But, how many of us have heard of the other disaster which occurred, in the Mediterranean Sea? This was not an adventure of discovery, but more of a life-or-death venture where the value of one's life did not figure into the "cost" of the trip, but into whether one might continue to live in today's world.
Is there a difference in the value of one's life between the 2 stories? Given the value of the media's coverage, I guess one would think that the submersible's passengers lives were worth more? I mean, how many are even aware of the second story? Was the value of the lives lost in the sinking in the Mediterranean less than those who were privileged to descend to the Atlantic's floor? Given the media's attention, one could easily assume so. To be honest, I don't know. I guess it is a by-product of what we are exposed to on a daily basis and what the media tells us we should be concerned with, as sad as that is. But, there are only so many minutes available in any newscast, right? Which story will bring the most clicks seems to be the order of the day, as sad as that may seem. But that is where we are.
I only cite the above to use as something to chew on. What is more important to us in today's world? The lives of the elite, or the lives of those who strive to make it from day-to-day? What does our pro-life crowd think?
Anyway, here is the second story that did receive short shrift on the news coverage compared to the submersible story, for those who may not have been aware of these people's plight.
They knew the boat could sink. Boarding it didn’t feel like a choice.
The story of how as many as 750 migrants came to board a rickety blue fishing trawler and end up in one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwrecks is bigger than any one of the victims. But for everyone, it started somewhere, and for Thaer Khalid al-Rahal it started with cancer.The leukemia diagnosis for his youngest son, 4-year-old Khalid, came early last year. The family had been living in a Jordanian refugee camp for a decade, waiting for official resettlement after fleeing Syria’s bitter war, and doctors said the United Nations’ refugee agency could help cover treatment costs. But agency funds dwindled and the child’s case worsened. When doctors said Khalid needed a bone-marrow transplant, the father confided in relatives that waiting to relocate through official channels was no longer an option. He needed to get to Europe to earn money and save his son.“Thaer thought he didn’t have a choice,” said his cousin, Abdulrahman Yousif al-Rahal, reached by phone in the Jordanian refugee camp of Zaatari.
In Egypt, the journey for Mohamed Abdelnasser, 27, started with a creeping realization that his carpentry work could not earn enough to support his wife and two sons.For Matloob Hussain, 42, it began the day his Greek residency renewal was rejected, sending him back to Pakistan, where his salary helped put food on the table for 20 extended family members amid a crippling economic crisis.“Europe doesn’t understand,” said his brother Adiil Hussain, interviewed in Greece where they had lived together. “We don’t leave because we want to. There is simply nothing for us in Pakistan.”At least 79 dead, hundreds missing in year’s deadliest wreck off Greece
On Matloob’s earlier journey to Europe, he had been so scared of the water that he kept his eyes closed the whole time. This time, the smugglers promised him they would take him to Italy. They said they would use “a good boat.”The trawler left from the Libyan port city of Tobruk on June 8. Just 104 survivors have reached the Greek mainland. Eighty-two bodies have been recovered, and hundreds more have been swallowed by the sea.
Survivors of the ship sleep in a warehouse in the port of Kalamata, Greece, where they were initially brought after their rescue.
As the Mediterranean became a stage for tragedy on June 14, a billionaire and several businessmen were preparing for their own voyage in the North Atlantic. The disappearance of their submersible as it dove toward the wreckage of the Titanic sparked a no-expenses-spared search-and-rescue mission and rolling headlines. The ship packed with refugees and migrants did not.
In missing submersible and migrant disaster, a tale of two Pakistans
About half the passengers are believed to have been from Pakistan. The country’s interior minister said Friday that an estimated 350 Pakistanis were on board, and that many may have died. Of the survivors from the boat, 47 are Syrian, 43 Egyptian, 12 Pakistani and two Palestinian.Some of the people on the trawler were escaping war. Many were family breadwinners, putting their own lives on the line to help others back home. Some were children. A list of the missing from two towns in the Nile Delta carries 43 names. Almost half of them are under 18 years old.This account of what pushed them to risk a notoriously dangerous crossing is based on interviews with survivors in Greece and relatives of the dead in Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt, as the news sent ripples of distress throughout communities from North Africa to South Asia. Some people spoke on the condition of anonymity, because they feared being drawn into government crackdowns on human smuggling networks.Thaer Khalid al-Rahal boarded the trawler in hopes of getting to Europe and earning money to save his sick son.
Rahal’s family said they do not know how he contacted the smugglers in Libya, but remember watching as he creased under the fatigue and shame of having to ask anyone he could for the thousands of dollars they were requesting for safe passage to Italy.
Greek and E.U. policies under scrutiny after devastating shipwreck
Thirteen men left from El Na’amna village, south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in the hope of achieving the same. Ten miles away in Ibrash, another village, Abdelnasser left the house as he usually did for his 2 a.m. factory shift but joined a packed car to Libya instead, along with 29 other young men and boys. “He told us nothing,” said his father, Amr. “We would have stopped him.”
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