Mediterranean Sea migrant smuggling: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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According to the [[United Nations]], [[human smuggling]] is defined as “the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a State Party of which the person is not a national or a permanent resident.”<ref name="ProtocolUN">“Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.” United Nations, 2000.</ref> Civil unrest in the Middle East in the 21st century and changing European immigration policies have been seen numbers of [[refugees]] fleeing their home countries. Migrants rely on human smugglers to assist them in illegal border crossings to Europe. <ref name="Cernov">Cernov, Ana, and Oliver Hudson. "Smugglers Will Always Outwit, Outpace and Outfox the Governments." Sur International Journal on Human Rights, vol. 13, no. 23, 2016, pp. 77-83. ProQuest.</ref> With the help of human smugglers, refugees use different routes to the EU due to varying immigration policies. In between January and September 2015, the most common was the Eastern Mediterranean.<ref name="EMNInform">“EMN Inform on Migrants’ Movements Through the Mediterranean.” European Migration Network, 23 Dec. 2015.</ref> Additionally, 2015 saw a major increase in the number of migrants making the Eastern Mediterranean crossing; “There were nearly eight times more detections via the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] route in the first nine months of 2015 (401,000) than during the whole of 2014 (51,000).” <ref name="EMNInform" /> The European Migration Network reports that the secondary movements of refugees upon arrival in Europe are heavily influenced by human smugglers.<ref name="EMNInform" /> According to the UN, human smuggling is a criminal offense. <ref name="ProtocolUN" /> However, the number of human traffickers in Turkey increased from 4,641 in 2017 to 6,278 in 2018.<ref name="Koc">Koç, Fırat, et al. “Biyometrik Verilerin Ülke Giriş- Çıkış Noktalarında Kullanılması Ile Suç- Geçiş Bölgelerinin Güvenliğinin Sağlanması.” Electronic Turkish Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 447–456. EBSCOhost. </ref>

Because human smuggling is illegal, little is definitely known about the practice. What is known comes from interviews refugees or smugglers have given to journalists.

== Secrecy of operations ==

Because human smuggling is illegal, little is definitely known about the underground. What is known comes from interviews refugees or smugglers have given to journalists. [[International Organization for Migration]] General William Lacy Swing described human smuggling as “a crime. These unscrupulous smugglers are sending thousands of people to their deaths.”<ref name="IOM">“Mediterranean Migrants Died from Poisonous Fumes: IOM.” International Organization for Migration, 4 Sept. 2017, www.iom.int/news/mediterranean-migrants-died-poisonous-fumes-iom.</ref> Prices vary smuggler to smuggler, but a trip across the Mediterranean can cost between $1,000 and $1,500 per person <ref name="Yeginsu">Yeginsu, Ceylan, and Anemona Hartocollis. “Amid Perilous Mediterranean Crossings, Migrants Find a Relatively Easy Path to Greece.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/world/europe/turkey-greece-mediterranean-kos-bodrum-migrants-refugees.html.</ref> or even up to between $6,450 and $8,600. <ref name="Mullen">Mullen, Jethro, and Ashley Fantz. “Hundreds of Migrant Deaths: What Is Europe Going to Do?” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Apr. 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/04/20/africa/italy-migrant-boat-capsizes/.</ref> That price usually covers one spot in an intentionally flimsy dinghy <ref name="Melchior">Melchior, Jillian Kay. “Who Benefits from Syria's Refugee Crisis: Human Smugglers.” National Review, National Review, 26 Oct. 2015, www.nationalreview.com/2015/10/human-smugglers-profit-syrian-refugee-crisis/. </ref> or old fishing boat,<ref name="Mullen" /> without a life jacket. <ref name="Yeginsu" /> Some smugglers even discourage life jackets because they take up too much space. <ref name="Yeginsu" /> Numerous smugglers sell counterfeit life jackets that are actually not buoyant.<ref name="Rubin">Rubin, Shira. “Daring Human Smugglers Use Social Media to Lure Migrants Fleeing Syria.” NewsBank, Yerepouni Daily News, 27 Jan. 2016. </ref> Many of the life preservers sold on the coast of Turkey have labels reading “this is not a lifesaving device”.<ref name="ThisFamily">“This Refugee Family Was Smuggled from Syria to Greece.” Films Media Group, 2015, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=99355&xtid=114829. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.</ref> After the refugees pay for their trip, the smuggler gets them a boat and sends them across the Mediterranean, often headed on a dangerous journey to Greece. <ref name="Rubin" /> Between 2014 and October 2019, at least 14,000 refugees died attempting to cross the Mediterranean.<ref name="AlJazeera">“More Than 1,000 People Dead in Mediterranean So Far This Year.” Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 1 Oct. 2019, www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/1000-people-dead-mediterranean-year-191001140843136.html. </ref>

== Overview ==

Prices vary smuggler to smuggler, but a trip across the Mediterranean can cost between $1,000<ref name="Yeginsu">Yeginsu, Ceylan, and Anemona Hartocollis. “Amid Perilous Mediterranean Crossings, Migrants Find a Relatively Easy Path to Greece.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/world/europe/turkey-greece-mediterranean-kos-bodrum-migrants-refugees.html.</ref> and $8,600.<ref name="Mullen">Mullen, Jethro, and Ashley Fantz. “Hundreds of Migrant Deaths: What Is Europe Going to Do?” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Apr. 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/04/20/africa/italy-migrant-boat-capsizes/.</ref> That price usually covers one spot in an intentionally flimsy dinghy<ref name="Melchior">Melchior, Jillian Kay. “Who Benefits from Syria's Refugee Crisis: Human Smugglers.” National Review, National Review, 26 Oct. 2015, www.nationalreview.com/2015/10/human-smugglers-profit-syrian-refugee-crisis/. </ref> or old fishing boat,<ref name="Mullen" /> often without a life jacket.<ref name="Yeginsu" /> To maximize their profit, smugglers often use unseaworthy boats filled to well over their intended capacity. This has in recent years led to a high death toll from boats sinking or capsizing.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Baker|first=Aryn|title=Inside a Week on a Refugee Recovery Ship|url=https://time.com/refugee-rescue/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-29|website=TIME}}</ref> Some smugglers even discourage life jackets because they take up too much space. <ref name="Yeginsu" /> Many sell counterfeit life jackets that are not actually buoyant.<ref name="Rubin">Rubin, Shira. “Daring Human Smugglers Use Social Media to Lure Migrants Fleeing Syria.” NewsBank, Yerepouni Daily News, 27 Jan. 2016. </ref> Some of the life preservers sold on the coast of Turkey have labels reading “this is not a lifesaving device”.<ref name="ThisFamily">“This Refugee Family Was Smuggled from Syria to Greece.” Films Media Group, 2015, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=99355&xtid=114829. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.</ref> <graph>{

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== Communication ==

Modern technology has allowed human smuggling rings in the Middle East to thrive.<ref name="Cernov" /> The “Smugglers Market” [[Facebook]] group had 640 members before it was removed by Facebook for violating community standards.<ref name="Rubin" /> It contained contact information for smugglers, price options for forged documents like marriage licenses, university degrees, and passports.<ref name="Rubin" /> Additionally, smugglers use [[WhatsApp]] as a way to instant message the refugees that they are smuggling.<ref name="Yeginsu" />

== Criticism and proposed solutions ==

Many world leaders have criticized Turkey for its lax policies against human smuggling. <ref name="Rubin" /> President of Greece [[Prokopis Pavlopoulos]] said “I have a strong fear that Turkish smugglers have the support of the authorities, in particular, border authorities who act like they have seen nothing.” <ref name="Rubin" /> Other critics of the human smuggling crisis in the Mediterannean claim the issue continues due to European countries’ nonuniform efforts to halt smugglers. <ref name="Melchior" /> Chairman of the [[Europa-Institut]] Christof Zellenberg stated “By inviting [people] in but closing all of the tracks, we are basically building a business model for traffickers.” <ref name="Melchior" /> [[François Crépeau]], United Nations Special Rapporteur, suggests “What is needed is for states to reclaim the mobility market from the hands of the smugglers through offering safe, legal, and cheap mobility solutions to the many, and to build an open but controlled mobility regime over a generation.” <ref name="Cernov" />