Italy Increases Sea and Air Patrols After Recent Deaths of Migrants in the Mediterranean

Reason

Italian authorities are to step up sea and air patrols in the Mediterranean after the recent sinking of African migrant boats near the island of Lampedusa.

Hundreds of migrants have died in the last few weeks making their journey to Europe.  

From the BBC:

Italy is stepping up sea and air patrols following the deaths of hundreds of migrants sailing in overcrowded boats from North Africa.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta said an "air and naval package" would start on Monday south of Sicily.

On Friday at least 33 people died when their boat capsized between Malta and the Italian island of Lampedusa.

A week earlier, more than 350 migrants died in another shipwreck off Lampedusa.

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Comments

[R C Dean]

It kinda matters what these air and sea patrols are going to do with the migrants they find.

If they bring them to Europe, then you can expect the body count to climb. If they turn them away to an African destination, the body count will drop.

At least, that's the way it worked in Australia. You get more of what you reward, so if you reward people getting into crappy boats with a trip to their desired destination, you're going to get more people piling into crappy boats. It ain't rocket surgery.

[Almanian!]

Cuban raft makers, take heed!

[Death Rock and Skull]

Go back to Africa, drown. Either way the risk is worth it.

[AlexInCT]

Can't they use armed drones? 🙂

[Zakalwe]

If the boats are sinking on their own, why do you need to send patrols out to shoot at them? I'm confused.

[BakedPenguin]

Duh, because not all of them were sinking. C'mon, Zakalwe.

Italy's anti-immigrant party is pretty good at irony, though.

[PapayaSF]

It's a common fallacy to believe that if a small amount of something is good, an infinite amount must be better. The fact that small amounts of immigration are good for all concerned doesn't prove that open borders is a good idea. Italy and the rest of Europe will not benefit from importing vast numbers of illiterate African peasants.

[BakedPenguin]

I agree, to an extent. The freer the market, the better immigration is for that economy. A fully communist economy might like having more slaves. A mixed economy like Italy's will just suffer, putting these people in ghettos, where they collect welfare and start feeling resentful.

I just thought it funny that one of the leaders in their anti-immigration movement was a half-black woman who was originally from America.

[Almanian!]

Well, yeah - roll up the sidewalks AFTER I'm in. Duh.

[BakedPenguin]

- and she voted for Obama. Ha ha ha ha ha.

[PapayaSF]

Just because it looks like hypocrisy doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

[BakedPenguin]

"A fully communist economy" Fuck. replace this with "The leaders of a fully communist country..."

[Death Rock and Skull]

Some of them might have dogs with them.

[Swiss Servator, Zurichmania!]

Wait, the Carabinieri are patrolling?

[Zakalwe]

What do you call a few hundred immigrants at the bottom of the ocean in Italian?

[Swiss Servator, Zurichmania!]

You know who else patrolled the seas between Sicily and Africa?

[Zakalwe]

Jack Shaftoe?

[Swiss Servator, Zurichmania!]

+1 Bonanza

[Zakalwe]

Commodore Preble?

[Almanian!]

Jacques Cousteau?

[BakedPenguin]

Ulysses?

[WTF]

Scipio Africanus?

[DJF]

I would think that if they arrested the boat captain and crew and gave them fines and prison sentences that the number of boats carrying these immigrants would drop considerably.

[CE]

You know who else increased sea and air patrols?