In August, partisan politics takes a break. Heated partisan debates are forgotten as people head to their holidays abroad or crowd the seashores for a much-needed summer break or a cooling swim.
That same sea in which they swim – the Mediterranean – is not just a playground for holidaymakers. It is also a large, unmarked grave. The pleasure boats and cruise ships share the waterways with what Pope Francis called “vehicles of death.”
Two stories that made the headlines during the last month give us a glimpse of what is going on in our waters.
The first is the story of 38-year-old Mohammed Adam Oga who was rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta. Oga was found on a rubber dinghy along with the lifeless body of another man. There was no sign of food or water on board.
In an interview with Times of Malta, he gives us a glimpse of the horrifying journey he had to endure. He was found after an 11-day journey with no food, no water and no fuel. Many resorted to drinking seawater. This proved to be a fatal mistake. After five days, two people died. Two passengers succumbed to dehydration and hunger every day until Oga was the sole survivor.
Concurrently, another incident was unfolding involving 507 persons stuck at sea with nowhere to disembark. The Ocean Viking rescued 356 people while the Open Arms NGO hosted another 151 people. Several European ports were reluctant to let these boats dock safely.
The deafening silence of several European governments and the sickening taunts on social media (many too horrible to reproduce in print) continue to exacerbate the horror of the situation. The human person has been reduced to nothing more than a political pawn.
Naturally, several politicians do have very firm views of what should take place. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s Interior Minister, has expressed his heavy-handed opinions in a clear and consistent manner. Though much of his solutions lack humanity, they resonate with large swathes of the population which feel alienated from the economic and social life of the country.
Politicians from the left have not done much to contribute constructively to the debate either. Despite the constant virtue-signalling, the issues which are driving many people to populist parties have not been addressed.
The pleasure boats and cruise ships share the waterways with what Pope Francis called ‘vehicles of death’
Some caveats need to be made. There is no denying that mass migration creates challenges of a social, economic, political and demographic nature. It would be wrong to downplay such issues.
It would also be wrong to argue in favour of the misunderstood concept of multiculturalism, which runs counter to ideals of integration and understanding.
However, the lack of humanity in the debate and the reluctance to show solidarity in addressing the issues point to a profound crisis in our politics. After all, what is the point of political structures if they fail to safeguard the wellbeing of persons at their most vulnerable?
In the wake of such humanitarian crises, Pope Francis emerges as a refreshing and challenging voice. His first visit outside Rome, on June 8, 2013, was to Lampedusa – a Sicilian island in the periphery which has first-hand experience of the various challenges that migration brings.
During his homily, he coined a phrase that remained stuck in the minds of many: the globalisation of indifference.
This was more than just a catchphrase; it is an ongoing leitmotif of his papacy, and his remarks are worth remembering: “Today no one in our world feels responsible; we have lost a sense of responsibility for our brothers and sisters.”
He went on to say: “The culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people, makes us live in soap bubbles which, however lovely, are insubstantial; they offer a fleeting and empty illusion which results in indifference to others.”
This attitude breeds a lack of compassion. The Pope argues that “we are a society which has forgotten how to weep, how to experience compassion – ‘suffering with’ others: the globalisation of indifference has taken from us the ability to weep!”
Indeed, the attitude towards the most vulnerable people in the most precarious of situations is but a small microcosm of a broader phenomenon which affects society. In his latest address on the occasion of the ‘World Day of Migrants and Refugees’, Pope Francis makes a similar point.
Compassion is not something which can be explained rationally, yet it is an intrinsic part of our humanity, “a vibrant urge to be a neighbour” and an opportunity “to make room for that tenderness which today’s society so often asks us to repress.”
His words have an added relevance to those who claim to be Christian, particularly those who are involved in public life. Indeed, faith is not just about brandishing rosary beads in public rallies or sitting in the front row at religious ceremonies and feasts. Undoubtedly those are important aspects, but they remain meaningless of not accompanied by constant inward conversion.
The logic the Christian is expected to adopt is no mean feat. It is the hardest thing that anyone who wants to commit to his faith will be ever asked to do. It means overturning the ‘me first’ logic of the world to the ‘last shall be first’ logic that Christ speaks of. As Pope Francis reminds us, it implies not yielding to the prevailing logic that “justifies injustice to others for my own gain or that of my group.”
Thus, Pope Francis concludes that issues concerning migration “help us to read the signs of the times”. This situation is just a microcosm that reminds us of our need to “be set free from exclusivity, indifference and the throw-away culture.”
If such attitudes are allowed to grow and fester, what hope is there for the other political, social and economic challenges that also require a good measure of solidarity?