ITALY - Migrant Horror Story
Migrants reportedly from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria—countries ravaged recently by poverty, natural disasters, conflicts and civil unrest—were crammed aboard the 66-foot-long wooden boat that originated from Turkey and crashed into a rocky shore of eastern Calabria, according to the Italian Coast Guard.
At least 120 migrants were aboard the vessel, according to the coast guard. Citing rescue workers, Agence France-Presse put the number at more than 200.
Vincenzo Luciano, a resident of the area, told ABC News he was among the first witnesses to arrive at the beach near Steccato di Cutro after the boat wrecked.
“We arrived and saw this disaster. The more the sun rose, the more dead bodies we could see,” Luciano said. “I was just trying to get as many people as possible out of the water but they were all dead. I feel destroyed. It will be awhile before I’m ready to head back out to sea.”
Italy is one of the main landing points for migrants being smuggled across the central Mediterranean, mostly from North Africa and in recent years from Turkey. At least 20,333 migrants have been killed or have gone missing since 2014 while attempting the crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project.
-abcnews.go.com, 27 February 2023
Arno's Commentary
According to WorldMigrationReport.iom.int, Europe and Asia are the preferred destinations for immigrants. During the period of the 1990s to the 2020s, Europe reported 50 million immigrants at the beginning, with 86.7 million immigrants in the 2020s. Asia: 50 million in the 1990s, 85.6 million in the 2020s.
In this tragedy, human trafficking organizations were involved, who collect large amounts of money with the promise of guaranteed fare to Europe. More than 20,000 have been killed on the way to their destination since 2014, as the article states. The tragedy is heartbreaking. These immigrants from countries ravaged by poverty, natural disasters, or civil wars were hoping for a new life but found death.
For decades, the EU has attempted, by various ways and means, to stop or at least reduce the flow of immigrants to the continent, but apparently little has changed. One of the main reasons for no change is politics and the degree of disunity among the nations. The issue is: how many immigrants is each country prepared to accept? According to Statista.com, figures for 2021 reveal immigrant arrivals as follows: Russia, 320,615; Germany, 312,737; Spain, 275,022; UK, 202,027; Sweden, 80,097.
One thing becomes clear: there is no end in sight to the increasing movement of people from one country to another, thus resulting in a more globalist society.
The Bible indicates that world unity will one day be established, but—we emphasize—in the wrong direction; namely, under the dominion of the god of this world. Nevertheless, in all the tragedy and chaos the Church, consisting of born-again believers, continues to grow and will arrive at its destination: the fullness of the Gentiles.
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
