Could Europe Stop Migrants Dying In The Mediterranean?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 24 February 2015
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
More than 3,000 people are estimated to have died in the Mediterranean Sea last year. The Pope has warned that the waters are in danger of becoming "a vast cemetery". So what could European countries do to stop these deaths? The Inquiry hears evidence about the people smugglers described as the most ruthless travel agents on the planet, the Italian Navy rescue mission that’s been dramatically down-sized, and the claims that saving migrants at sea creates a "pull factor".
Presenter: Neal Razzell
(Image: The coffins of immigrants who died trying to reach the Italian coast arrive from Lampedusa to Porto Empedocle, 11 February 2015. Credit: MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO/AFP/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
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| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC |
| 0:35.4 | Sounds. |
| 0:36.4 | Hi, thanks for downloading the inquiry from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:40.9 | We're a weekly program. |
| 0:42.4 | Our job is to add in-depth analysis to one question from the news. |
| 0:47.0 | We hope you like it. |
| 0:49.0 | BBC World Service. This is Neil Riselle with the inquiry. |
| 0:56.0 | This week, could Europe stop migrants dying in the Mediterranean? |
| 1:02.0 | Unfortunately, the number of dead and lost at sea is getting higher. |
| 1:07.0 | February 11, 2015, a UN official relays the latest information from the waters of southern Italy. |
| 1:15.0 | That makes 203 people lost at sea today. |
| 1:20.0 | By the end of the day, the number had risen to more than 300 dead all migrants who'd left Libya for Europe in small boats |
| 1:28.2 | They'd hit a storm in what the UN calls the world's most dangerous sea crossing. |
| 1:33.0 | It's a crossing more and more are using |
| 1:38.0 | 45,000 in 2013, 170,000 in 2014. |
| 1:43.8 | So it's no surprise that the number of people dying is rising to, |
| 1:47.6 | more than 3,000 last year alone. |
... |
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