Citation

Razum O, Bozorgmehr K. Int. J. Public Health 2015; 60(5): 515-516.

Affiliation

Department of Epidemiology and International Public Health, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 10 01 31, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany, oliver.razum@uni-bielefeld.de.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00038-015-0689-4

PMID

25967467

Abstract

The planks measure about 5 feet (1.5 m) in length. They were once painted in dark and light blue and in red colours. Now the paint has chipped off, the wood is splintered; the nails are loose and rusty. The planks belonged to what must have been a small fishing vessel. They were washed ashore in Sicily. It will probably never be known how many people perished when the boat sank, but it is likely that it was overcrowded with men, women and children of all ages, attempting to reach Europe from North Africa....

More than 1600 refugees drowned in the Mediterranean between January and April 2015, according to UNHCR estimates (UNHCR 2015). It is far easier to decry this disgrace than to offer realistic solutions. Integrating refugees into EU societies poses great challenges. Some of those arriving fled from war and terror, others from economic distress and hopelessness. Some have decent education and marketable skills; others never had the chance to acquire these. Some are active and healthy, others deeply traumatised. But we must meet this challenge....

Language: en