Letters to the Editor: Hundreds of refugees died in the Mediterranean, not on a rich man’s submersible
To the editor: Two recent accidents at sea have captured the world’s attention — the capsizing of a fishing boat carrying 750 desperate refugees in the Mediterranean Sea, and the implosion of the Titan, a submersible carrying five people on an adventure to view the remains of the Titanic.
As a journalist and humanitarian, I have been shocked and appalled by the disparity of media coverage of the two events.
At least 500 people died on the fishing boat, but that story was all but abandoned when the Titan search began. Photos and live updates on the search flooded the media for days. The U.S. Coast Guard and others spent millions of dollars looking for the Titan.
The disparity raises the question of how lives are valued.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with “universal” being the revolutionary word. On the Fourth of July, the Declaration of Independence will be read in towns and cities across America. That brilliant document states that all are created equal and have the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
There are more refugees and displaced people in the world today than at any time since World War II. This humanitarian crisis must remain in the headlines and at the top of our awareness every day.
Jane Olson, Pasadena
The writer chaired Human Rights Watch from 2004 to 2010.
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To the editor: As a refugee admitted to the United States during a brief opening for persons who qualified under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, I am particularly aware and supportive of immigrants and those seeking asylum.
Currently, the U.S. admits about 25,000 refugees a year, and in the 2022 fiscal year at least 853 migrants died trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
But, you know, numbers don’t tell the story. Money does. One can establish permanent residency here by investing $1.8 million in a U.S. company.
This past week we were bombarded with the sad case of the loss of a submersible containing five men. These were wealthy men — there were no women carrying babies, no small children, no blended families trying to traverse a desert and waterway.
What shall we make of this difference? How is it that multiple nations deployed their coast guards and the U.S. sent its Navy to save these five special people while no similar efforts were made to assist those crossing into the U.S. or the hundreds who died in the Mediterranean Sea?
Shame on all who do not advocate for the stateless, the immigrants, the asylum seekers. This last week should convince everyone that the wealthy are indeed treated better.
David Wilzig, Los Angeles
