Staying Afloat

          Chaos erupts as a fishing boat capsizes. The water jolts the passengers alive, pumping adrenaline into their systems. Screams can be heard from the passengers as they try to find anything to grasp onto. Orange life jackets drop from helicopters above. A young boy, Ebo, gets rescued. As he gets airlifted, he yells for his brother, Kwame, who remains in the water. Kwame goes beneath the surface and never resurfaces. Despair washes over Ebo, as he is forced to watch his brother drown, never seeing him again. Kwame becomes a body, a body that along with others sinks lifeless into the depths of the Meditation Sea. 

          Although a fictional story, Eoin Colfer’s and Andrew Donkin’s book, Illegal, is rooted in true events. Ebo’s and Kwame’s journey is like many others and demonstrates the dangers that mobility can bring. Having lived by the ocean my whole life, I have experienced the joy that water can bring. Boats both motor and wind powered has influenced my life greatly. It has brought me sense of peace and comfort that I know I can always rely on. But for others, water has connotations of danger, death, and despair. The theme that most interested me from the class is that of water transportation. Having safe and reliable transportation methods for migrants is crucial. We learned as a class how difficult migration can be throughout what seems to be a never-ending process. Feeling 100% safe during the migration process is impossible but that does not mean that safety precautions cannot be improved. The problem that feels urgent to me is how do we make the usage of boats safer and more reliable for migrants through analyzing the boats themselves? While also finding solution-oriented ways to mitigate deaths. What resonated with me about the story of Ebo and Kwame is how Kwame’s death could have been prevented. No one should have to see their family die in front of them. Without the ability to swim, migrants die waiting for search and rescue, and maybe their deaths could be prevented. With the current conditions, death will always come with migration, but lives can be saved which is why this problem is something that should be examined closer. 

          Compared to other causes of death, drowning is most prevalent in the Mediterranean. Since 2014, drowning has contributed to 93.2% of all deaths, followed by unknown or mixed 4.8%, vehicle accident/hazardous 1.2%, and harsh environmental 0.8%. According to Missing Migrant Project, the exact number of drownings since 2014 is 22,248 (Migration Within The Mediterranean). The data reflects the need for more robust safety precautions on the water. If more migrants knew how to swim or tread water, perhaps the death rate would be lower but because it is impossible to teach every migrant how to swim it is more realistic to modify the boats rather than the migrants’ own capabilities. Also, taking under consideration that migrants may have conditions that would prevent from learning how to swim. Drowning greatly outnumbers the other causes of death, which demonstrates how dangerous and unreliable the Mediterranean is and the vehicles that are being used are. Safer vehicles could decrease the death rate and improve the experience of migrants who choose to take this route. 

          Last year, within the first six months 1,146 people died while trying to get to Europe. This number is a 123% increase from the 513 deaths of the previous year. The IOM has reported that the death toll is likely to be much higher because of the unknown shipwrecks or other circumstances that make it challenging to verify. Bodies that will wash up on shore, reflects the message that tragedy is happening all the time on the water, but it is impossible to pinpoint where, when, and how (Silva, 2021). Migrants that choose this route are coming from various countries and end up in various countries. Most migrants are coming from west Africa, Syria, Gambia, Senegal, and Somalia who opt to take routes through the Sahara or the Mediterranean coast. Migrants coming from Libya often end up in Lampedusa an island in Italy. Greece and Malta are also popular destinations. In addition to unreliable boats, the crew that is meant to navigate migrants often abandon them. Overtime there has been an increase in migrant deaths. The UNHCR contributes this to abolishment of Mare Nostrum. In 2014, the Italian navy was operating Mare Nostrum. Mare Nostrum “intercepted ships carrying migrants in international waters ad became the de facto last stage of the most migrants’ journey to Europe” (O.M., 2015). From October 2013 to October 2014, more than 140,000 were taken on board. Mare Nostrum was then replaced by another operation, Triton. Established by Frontex, an EU border agency, Triton was a cheaper alternative. This made it riskier, with the idea to deter migrants from taking passage. However, this was not the outcome as the death toll increased (O.M., 2015). Replacing Mare Nostrum with Triton show the perspective and priorities of the EU. The safety of human lives is not at the forefront of policymaker’s minds but rather the distribution of migrants once they enter Europe. If the policies on the water are only worsening traveling conditions, contributing factors like the quality of boats being used needs to be increased. 

          Boats that migrants use can vary, however, dinghies are commonly used. Many of these dinghies are made in China where they are then ordered by smugglers over the internet. Prices can range from $500 to $2,000. After that they are then delivered to popular migration routes in Europe. Dinghies are typically 11 meters long and can carry a maximum of 15 people, but sometimes smugglers will over pack them with up to 50 people. Up until 2015, a variety of boats were used, including fishing boats, barges, and wooden and glass fiber boats that ordinated from Libyan, Turkish, Tunisian, and Egyptian fishers. During the peak of the migration crisis, the European military missions began to dismantle these boats to combat smuggling, making dinghies the most used vessel. The main issue with dinghies is that they are made with inferior materials and deflate within hours of being on the water. One by one, air chamber will collapse, regardless of if the dinghy is in motion or the condition of the sea. Higher quality German models are also not effective when they are overloaded with people (Harding, Ni, Tondo, 2021). Poor materials paired with the overcrowding of people create a dangerous situation. Although practical boats, dinghies at least in the way they are being used now are extremely unsafe. 

          Now understanding the problem that dinghies bring, how can we create a solution? What improvements can manufacturers make to create a safer vehicle? One of the main issues of current dinghies is how fast they deflate due to lack of buoyancy. By adding buoyancy, dinghies will be more stable as well as the ability to carry heavier weight or more people. To create buoyancy, floating pods can be added to the outside of the boat by the stern. This will also pull the stern deeper into the water. The stern would be the most effective place to add pods because it is naturally the heaviest part of any boat as it houses the oil tank, engine, and battery. If pods are not available, items can be moved to different parts of the boat to reduce pressure from the stern. Beavertail small float pods for example are great for 14-16’ boats. A set of two will provide an additional 160 pounds of floatation. Pods will also allow for boats to be more gas efficient. Foam can is another very effective solution to increase buoyancy. I have personally used this method in the form of pool noodles, and it works very well. The best foam to use is closed-cell foam, which will protect water from cell to cell. By looking at factors that make boats less stable accidences can be avoided. Like on most boats, the crew and passengers make up most of the weight. Where they are located and how they move on boats will have an impact on the stability. The size of the boat will also impact the stability. The longer and wider a boat is the more stable it is. Migrants should aim to look for these types of boats if possible. If they wanted to see how unstable a boat is they can multiply the length of the boat by its width then divide the answer by 15, this will show the maximum crew capacity. Speed of boats is an important factor as well. Migrants should avoid traveling in flat-bottomed boats as they are not good in rough seas since they cannot go through waves because of the flat hull. The flatter the hull the more destabilized it will become. V-shaped hull boats will be able to go through waves and are best suited for calmer waters as you can get the best speed (Matechak, 2022). There are many tactics and improvements that manufactures can do to boats or if not available small tweaks that migrants can make to improve a boats integrity. 

          Another important aspect of traveling across the Mediterranean are wind patterns. Although not a vehicle, wind patterns have a huge effect on the water and traveling conditions. By analyzing the winds, it can give clarity on when and where the safest places are to travel across Europe. Across the central part of the Mediterranean, there are the south and southeast winds known as Sirocco. Sirocco are created by low pressure moving east across the sea. The winds rival the force of hurricanes and can reach 74mph. Originating in the Saharan desert due to the dry air, they will collect dust as they blow to Northern Africa. The dust then will travel offshore and impacts the southern part of the Mediterranean Sea. This wind can highly reduce visibility and blanket southern Italy and Greece in a dust. Dust can also cause thunderstorms as they gain moisture as they move north. The temperature paired with the humidity is a catalyst for thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall and flooding also occurs currently (Thompson, 2018). In figure 2, the white box indicates the central Mediterranean region where dust and storms are most prevent. Because there is an increase chance of thunderstorms in the spring, migrants might have a safer traveling route if they go during another season. If migrants are able the western route may also provide a safer option has the siroccos are less severe in that region. Avoiding heavy winds will increase the life span of boats and help migrants safely cross the sea. 

          Mitigating death during the migration process should always be prioritized but that is not always reality. Traveling across the Mediterranean is a dangerous journey. Location, transportation, and weather all contribute to the success of making it across the sea. Many migrants make it across, but many do not. Not all migrants may have the option to choose when, where, or how they travel but knowing even one extra piece of information could be the difference between life and death. Through proper knowledge and smart thinking migrants can increase their chance of surviving. Their success will be an example to others that change is possible. 

          Having made it to Italy, Ebo sits alone in an Italian refugee center, replaying the events in his head. For weeks, he looks out to the sea contemplating if it was all worth it. He holds a well-loved picture of his family in his hand. Suddenly, he hears a voice, a familiar voice. He turns around. His sister having seen the accident on television, has come for Ebo. They smile has they embrace and Ebo remembers why he never lost hope.