3,000 Thousands African Migrants Rescued from the Mediterranean

The quest for greener pasture in developed world is making many Africans endanger their lives on the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the extreme poverty and lack in parts of Africa many would dare the consequence in order to secure their dream life by taking any route to get to places like Europe and America.

Year after year you hear stories of Africans migrating to Europe through the sea. This however is not without its challenges as many have lost their lives in the process.

A typical example is what happened off the coast of Libya. According to the story as reported by Associated press, about 3,000 African migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean sea.

Thousands of migrants and refugees were rescued off the coast of Libya on Monday during a large scale effort involving Italian naval ships and other vessels.

Some 3,000 people who had been traveling in around 20 wooden boats, most of them from Eritrea and Somalia, were saved.

Proactiva Open Arms and Doctors Without Borders were among the groups involved in the rescue, which took place 13 miles north of the Libyan town of Sabratha, the Associated Press reports.

The people saved had just a small amount of fuel in their boats and hoped to make it at least 15 to 20 miles out to sea to reach awaiting rescuers.

In 2015, over 1 million migrants made it to Europe. However, thousands have not been so lucky. In May, over 700 were feared dead after numerous shipwrecks were discovered.
Some of the women rescued Monday had young children and infants with them on the perilous trip.

With migration routes through Turkey and the Balkans restricted, more and more people are trying the Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy. Political chaos in Libya has resulted in a lack of border controls in the country. 

Some 106,000 have made it to Italy so far this year, with at least 2,726 perishing in the attempt, the BBC reports.

In June, the European Union expanded its anti-smuggling operation in the central Mediterranean to include training Libyan coastal and naval forces, which are intercepting boats and returning migrants to Libya, where some are being held in abusive conditions.

Rights groups and experts estimate that there are about 3,500 migrants held in roughly 20 official detention facilities across Libya. Others are held in informal detention centers controlled by criminal gangs or armed groups.

When will Africans stop endangering their lives all in the name of seeking greener pastures? When are we going to develop our own continent and make it the envy of others?

It is high time African leaders wake up from their slumber and bring development to their people.

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