US: Our Priority Is And Must Be Saving Lives
As nearly 5,000 migrants are reported to have died this year by crossing treacherous seas and remote mountains, the United States of America outlined efforts to make migration safer and more humane.
In a press statement by Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki in Washington DC, the US government works bilaterally and multilaterally with the international community to make migration safer and the control of borders more humane.
The US has witnessed unprecedented numbers of unaccompanied children risking their lives traveling from Central America to the United States this year. To address this problem, the government launched new initiatives with Central American governments to address the root causes of this challenge, publicize the hazards, strengthen protection programs, and create safe, legal alternatives for children seeking to join their parents in the United States.
“Hardship and hopelessness prompt far too many people to forsake their homes and venture into harm’s way.” – Ms. Psaki
Ms. Psaki highlighted the migrants need the world’s compassion for their lives may depend on it.
Migrants In Peril Of Danger
According to Ms. Psaki, deaths at sea surged as record numbers attempted to make it from North Africa to Europe this year. More than 3,000 migrants drowned when overcrowded, unseaworthy boats capsized or sank in the Mediterranean Sea. The danger is not going away.
In addition, poverty, hunger, and brutal wars like the one raging in Syria will continue to drive the exodus. In a global context, more people are now forcibly displaced than at any other time since World War II. And the worst thing is that the sordid business of human smuggling and trafficking is flourishing – and becoming more institutionalized and profitable.
This year is considered the worst year for migrants where the highest death toll was in the Mediterranean, where over 3,000 people drowned after traveling on small boats.
In addition, the crises in the world, including in Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Central African Republic and South Sudan caused the surge of migration.
