May 2007 Malta migrant boat disaster
Encyclopedia
On Monday, 21 May 2007, a small and crowded migrant boat
Boat people
Boat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...

 was spotted some 80 nmi (148.2 km) south of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 by the Maltese Air Force
Armed Forces of Malta
The Armed Forces of Malta is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate battalions, with minimal air and naval forces.- Headquarters, AFM :...

, and photographed while the 53 people on board were apparently trying to bail out water. Then the boat went missing. No trace of the boat or its occupants was found by the Maltese boats sent to their search and rescue, and there was no means they could have reached the shore during the time span in between. Maltese authorities and the UNHCR confirmed the missing status of the boat.

The state of peril in which the occupants of the boat found themselves at the time of their discovery was further confirmed by a cellphone call made by one occupant to a relative in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 on the same day of 21 May, when the boat's engine was said to have stopped, with water coming into the boat .

The event was the largest single disaster in terms of loss of life and involving migrant boats in the waters around Malta, a leading destination for migrants from Africa, until August 2008, when 71 migrants in one boat were feared drowned according to the accounts made by the eight survivors .

Background

Around 1700 migrants land on Malta every year and due to the particular conditions of the sea journey they risk, it is very difficult to advance theories on what would have happened and to how many people when something goes wrong between Malta and the north African
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

 coast. At least 10,000 are estimated to have died trying to reach Europe's southern shores in the last ten years. In cases where they are rescued by a non-Maltese vessel, they become subject to long negotiations between states, as it happened when a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 trawler rescued 51 in 2006 and another Spanish tug-boat took in 26 in the same month of May 2007. There has been cases where migrants were found clinging to tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...

 pens.

Most migrants try to reach further, particularly to Italy. In a further dimension, the arrival of illegal migrants became an issue between neighboring countries of the Mediterranean basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...

 and between those of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, of which Malta is the smallest member.

Those who remain in Malta try to pick up employment opportunities in the country's very limited labor market and they spark and fuel explicit xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...

 reactions. Hostility towards migrants has also been extended against journalists, clergymen and lawyers who advocate their rights, like Katrine Camilleri
Katrine Camilleri
Katrine Camilleri , Maltese, lawyer, assistant Director of JRS Malta, holder of the 2007 Nansen Refugee Award in recognition of her work for the rights of boat people fleeing across the Mediterranean Sea....

, 2007 Nansen Refugee Award
Nansen Refugee Award
The Nansen Refugee Award formerly known as the Nansen Medal is given annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to individuals or groups in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees. It is one of the most prestigious awards in the United Nations system...

winner, whose car and house door was burned.
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