Too sad to talk about really

Not Too Old - your idea of a new state just occurred to me too. The trouble is, where? The world is so overcrowded.
And they seem to be such a naive crowd.

I gather the Italians have rounded up some traffickers, but it will be a drop in the ocean.

I can't stand the people who talk as if the refugees are on some sort of jolly. Can't they see how bad conditions must be in these countries for families to walk hundreds of miles with only a probably deadly sea crossing at the end of it?

jing big X

Hammond

Ah yes, found video of it when. Thank you.

How on earth are they going to "target these criminal gangs"? In Libya? Be good if they could but... ?

There's a heartbreaking picture of a poor little soul who drowned in one of the leaking death traps being carried ashore, another catastrophe off the Island of Rhodes this time. If the EU has been set up for the member states to work together, why is it largely being left to Italy, Greece and Malta to deal with these disasters surely there should be some concerted effort given the magnitude of what is happening on an almost daily basis, particularly now the weather is warmer and more vessels are setting for Southern Europe.

Awful pictures in The Times today of Coptic Christians being led to their death in on the shores of the Mediterranean in Libya, no wonder so many of them want to escape such oppression and barbarity. In the meantime, African economic migrants who seek to try and find work in South Africa are being met with increasing hostility there from the indigenous people.

Oh, yes, when, Phillip Hammond. He seems quite a good bloke, if pedantic. I wouldn't fancy his job at the moment. What did he say?

jingle - it was William Hague, wasn't it? Or perhaps he's resigned, can't remember. We certainly do need someone at that meeting, election or not. As I think others have said, had we and our mates not destabilised the whole area in the first place, this would not be happening. I'm not sure that throwing money at the refugee problem will help in the long term. These poor people need somewhere to make a permanent home with a stable government, jobs and housing. Perhaps the EU will have to look at helping them set up a new state, a bit like Israel after the war. The EU can't accept all the migrants who would want to get out of these war torn places.

There have been some shocking pictures on the TV news. Apparently in the latest disaster on Sunday, hundreds of people were locked in the hold of the ship and trapped there when the ship sunk. One reporter said that the traffickers are now putting them in any old vessel, seaworthy or not, giving them the telephone number of the Italian coastguard and telling them to call that number when the ship gets into difficulties. Such wicked people, it's hard to believe.

Phillip Hammond was there - interviewed on lunchtime news about it, Jingle

Who has the UK got at the Luxembourg talks today. Who is our foreign minister? Have we not got one because of the election?

Lilygran, the BBC news just reported the boat you mentioned sunk off the island of Rhodes.

I'm off to email my MP. I realise we're mid election, but the government needs to be actively involved in whatever European action is taken.

I'm sorry whitewave.

The traffickers need to be stopped but the problem of these desperate people will remain.
The whole of the way foreign aid is administered is another thing that needs to be looked at.

The situation of these people must be just desperate to risk so much, as is the plight of the Syrian refugees in the camps (nearly 4 million so far and more than 11 million displaced).

And BBC has news of yet another leaky boat laden with refugees, sinking in the Med and waiting for rescue.

The Italians are talking about the need for the European countries to meet this week. We need the legality/criminality of this situation on the agenda and tackled internationally.

Well there's a starting point. A joint police campaign to catch all the traffickers and seriously deter others from taking up this despicable activity.

iam they also are operating within Europe and have been doing so for years. So in effect the refugees are being handed from one set of traffickers to another and they try to get out of Southern Europe into Northern Europe

Are the traffickers committing offences for which they can be prosecuted? I suspect no as they operate from Libya

With regard to what our country can do - well we have a choice we can turn our backs - or we can give an example to others and use some of the 2% overseas budget and emergency fund to try to sort the problem out. Giving them refugee passports would be a start and take them out of the traffickers hands. Deal with the traffickers in Europe who are waiting to pounce once the poor souls have landed and are trying to make a life where they can work in peace. No of course we can't sort the whole of Africa out no-one is suggesting we do but what I am suggesting is to show compassion, and love (or in your case DNA!) to a fellow human being.

jing don't shout at me - I do respect all children which is why I have money taken from my pension every month by Save The Children. I give as much as I can afford.

Little cockroach was meant as a term of endearment to try to mitigate others who describe these people in derogatory terms. It may be a bit cack- handed but I meant well.

I hope Tony Blair's putting some money towards this.

I know I'm shutting the door after the horse has bolted, and hindsight is a wonderful thing etc. how could we know this would happen? But then, we don't profess to be politicians.

signed. I truly dont know what the answer is, but I do know that we, as Europeans, geographically and politically, cannot leave Italy, Malta and Greece to pick up the horrendous financial and emotional cost of this. I read a very good description a few weeks ago of Ghaddafi and Sadam Hussein; they were described as ice that held everything together, now they have melted the countries have melted into a mess of tribal hatred and political vacuum. We melted the ice. I assume this is why the West is doing its best to ignore that other great block of ice in Syria, Bashar Al-Hassad.

Yes, I agree Stansgran. This is an international disaster and the UK was wrong to withdraw its support for the Italians.

A piece in the times today comments that there were many more boat people from Vietnam. I do think the Italians need more support from the EU.