Twisting the 'lessons of history' to authorise unjustifiable violence: the Mediterranean crisis

Where is the moral justification for some of the world's richest nations employing their naval and technological might in a manner that leads to the death of men, women and children from some of the world's poorest and most war torn regions? A dangerous perversion of history is being peddl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:OpenDemocracy (London) 2015-05
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
College professors
Migration
Slave trade
Slavery
Smuggling
Traditions
Violence
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Summary:Where is the moral justification for some of the world's richest nations employing their naval and technological might in a manner that leads to the death of men, women and children from some of the world's poorest and most war torn regions? A dangerous perversion of history is being peddled to answer this question. Smuggling involves voluntary, consensual arrangements, but trafficking is said to entail coercion or deception, and has been repeatedly likened to the transatlantic slave trade by politicians, journalists, and even some contemporary anti-slavery campaigners. When the problem is framed in this way, their vow to "identify, capture and destroy" the vessels of those who move migrants looks like a 'tough choice' forced upon EU leaders by the sudden appearance of a far greater evil--a modern slave trade.
ISSN:1476-5888