Let them swim!

If it were true that Maria Antoinette had mockingly suggested "Let them eat cake (brioche)", when told that the people were rioting because they lacked bread, the outrage that this would have caused would certainly be understandable. In fact, we find it so hard to believe that such cynicism could exist, that some historians have dismissed the comment as a fabrication to incense the masses, while others try to offer benign interpretations, such as the availability of brioche. And yet, isn't that exactly how Italy's Salvini is behaving? He and his cronies, as well as others, like Muscat, the Prime Minister of  Malta, are clearly saying: "Let them swim!", which means nothing less than: "Let them drown!"

The controversial Ai Wei Wei photo of the artist posing as the little drowned refugee toddler who washed up on the shores of Lesbos

In 2018 over 2,000 did. The ratio between those attempting the journey and those dying was 18:1 between January and July 2018, whilst in 2017 it was 42:1 (UNHCR statistics). This is therefore much higher than previous years, even though the number attempting the crossing has gone down. Why is this the case? Because the policy is just that: let them drown. Saving them only encourages others fleeing war, persecution, famine and other ills to attempt the crossing. "Let them eat cake!" is mild by comparison. We have lost all sense of humanity and to our shame the Mediterranean Sea has been turned into a watery grave. This month, over 200 have drowned. Of course, the real number is probably much higher, as who knows how many die unnoticed? Still, If you would like the latest UNHCR figures, you can access them here.

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them,—ding-dong, bell.

Shakespeare: The Tempest