At least 78 migrants dead and dozens feared missing after fishing boat sinks off Greece
PBS NewsHourJun 04, 2023
The Facts
A BBC investigation has cast doubt on the Greek coastguard’s claims about a shipwreck involving hundreds of migrants that occurred last Wednesday. Movement analysis shows that the migrant ship had not moved for seven-plus hours, despite Greek authorities claiming that the boat was not in danger until just before it capsized.
In what could be the second deadliest recorded migrant shipwreck, the Greek coastguard and other rescue officials recovered 78 deceased persons and found 104 survivors since the boat traveling from Libya to Italy sank off Greece’s south coast. 500 migrants are believed to have drowned.
The Spin
Narrative A
Last week’s shipwreck involving hundreds of migrants was an absolute tragedy, but shame on those trying to blame Greece for the events that transpired. Greek authorities have worked tirelessly with other European and international organizations to rescue as many people as possible and to right the wrongs of evil human traffickers. The “experts” at these non-governmental organizations have no solutions for handling a crisis in which thousands of people are taking life-threatening journeys to illegally enter a destination country.
Narrative B
It may be easy for European leaders to deflect blame onto “evil” smugglers for the tragedies involving migrants, but there is a lot more involved. Greek authorities are the latest European officials to callously ignore the life-threatening problems of a boat traveling in their waters, putting hundreds of lives in jeopardy. The fact that smugglers may take innocent people doesn’t absolve the responsibility to save the people in danger, and Greek officials are ignoring their duty.