(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
ABU DHABI, 19th January, 2017 (WAM) -- A UAE newspaper has said that the woes of migrants do not seem to end, with around 180 people now presumed to have died in the first major migrant boat disaster of 2017 in the Mediterranean.
In an editorial on Thursday, the English language daily, 'Gulf Today', said, "Despite the mid-winter weather making crossings particularly perilous, the start of 2017 has brought no sign of departures slowing with some 2,300 migrants already registered in Italy since 1st January.
According to the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, from 1st to 15th January, 2,876 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea, arriving mostly in Greece and Italy, against 23,664 in the first 14 days of January, 2016.
The paper went on to say, "Humanitarian workers from the IOM and the UN refugee agency have recounted harrowing details of the latest capsize that occurred on Saturday. The details can draw tears in the eyes of even a stone-hearted individual.
"The survivors have stated that their two-tier, wooden boat had left Libya on Friday with more than 180 people packed on board, all of them originally from East Africa.
"UN officials say that the number of children arriving in Italy by themselves via the sea route in 2016 more than doubled over the previous year, and this necessitates the need for special measures to protect them from trafficking, exploitation and abuse.
"The latest deaths and rescues follow a record year for the number of migrants trying to reach Europe on the western Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy. A record 65.3 million people were uprooted worldwide last year, with Syria and Africa responsible for a large part of a 50 percent surge in just five years. That means 1 in every 113 people on the planet is now a refugee, asylum-seeker or internally displaced person.
"Harsh winter and xenophobic attitudes in some countries compound the problems of thousands of helpless migrants when they seek shelter.
The paper concluded by saying, "Migrants deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. The best way out is for the international community to devise foolproof ways to make migration legal, safe and secure for all."
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