A boat from the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea on its way to Italy caught on fire before dawn on Thursday killing
many families aboard. Those on the boat
were an estimated 500 African migrants who were fleeing war and poverty in
their home country. The fire started when someone on board set a match to a
blanket to signal for their position, the fire from the burning blanket ignited
gasoline and caught the boat on fire. At the time this occurred, they were not
even a quarter-mile away from reaching their destination when they were forced
to flee the boat and attempt to swim to land. At least 111 people were reported
dead, with up to 250 still missing. Italy’s Coast Guard are still continuing to
search for more survivors.
Although on the surface this tragedy may
seem as though it is not a sociological created problem, by examining the
underlying causes to why this happened we can begin to understand how society
played an important role in this incident. Globalization has had a huge impact
on Africa’s economy in more negative ways than positive. Those Africans
fortunate enough to find work in factories must do so under harsh conditions
and at low wages. Many do not find jobs and must resort to drugs or other
criminal activity to make a living which also results in an increase in violence.
Jobs in Africa are really scarce due to
its struggling economy mainly because of the depletion of resources and the
exploitation of its working citizens. Therefore, the lack of opportunities for
Africans has led to high violence rates affects all of African citizens. African families who have the opportunity to
leave to Europe take it even if it means risking their lives like those who
were on the boat that caught on fire.
Karina Velazquez
10/4/13
4:34 pm
No comments:
Post a Comment