イタリア・ランペドゥーサ島沖の移民船転覆 なぜ彼らは危険な航海に出るのか

4月19日にイタリア・ランペドゥーサ島沖で移民を乗せた船が沈没した事故で、当初およそ700人とみられた死者数が800人以上に膨れ上がる可能性が出てきた。
|
Open Image Modal
Marco Di Lauro / Getty Images

4月19日にイタリア・ランペドゥーサ島沖で移民を乗せた船が沈没した事故で、当初およそ700人とみられた死者数が800人以上に膨れ上がる可能性が出てきた。イタリア検察は21日、大多数の移民を船内の倉庫に閉じ込めたまま死亡させたとして、チュニジア人の船長を逮捕した。宗教の違いから船内のトラブルを避けるため、移民を倉庫に閉じ込めた疑いがある。

犠牲者は北アフリカからヨーロッパへと向かう途上にあった。生存者が国連難民機関に語った証言によると、救助に向かったポルトガルの船を見つけて、多くの乗客が船の片側へと一気に移動したために船が転覆したとみられる。あるいは、救助船に横付けしようとしたチュニジア人の船長が操船に失敗して衝突し、バランスを崩した可能性もある。

今回の事故は、地中海で起きた移民船転覆事故の中でも最悪のものとなった。5月ごろの地中海は天候が温暖で海が穏やかになるため、多くの移民たちがヨーロッパにたどり着きたいという望みを胸に、すべてを危険にさらして危険な航海を試みている。19日の死亡者数が確定すると、2015年に入って地中海横断を試みて命を落とした人々の数が1500人を超えることになる。

ローマ教皇フランシスコは19日、国際社会に対し、これ以上悲劇が起きないよう断固とした姿勢をとるように求めた。教皇フランシスコは「彼らは私たちと同じ男性や女性であり、よりよい生活を求める兄弟たちです。飢えに苦しみ、迫害され、傷つき、搾取された戦争の犠牲者なのです。彼らはよりよい生活を求めていたのです」と述べた。

以下の写真は、毎年何万もの人々が乗り出す危険な旅路と、無事地中海を横断できたとしても彼らにのしかかる苦難がどのようなものかを垣間見せてくれる。

Marco Di Lauro / Getty Images
2005年6月21日、イタリア、ランペドゥーサに到着した移民を乗せた船。
Costas Metaxakis / AFP / Getty Images
2014年11月27日、海上保安官が、クレタ島のレラぺトラ港沖でキリバスの旗を掲げたフェリーを海軍の船が牽引するのを見ている様子。
Sergio Camacho / Getty Images
2014年8月12日、救助隊員がタリファ港で幼い移民の少女を救助する様子。少女はスペインの海上保安船によって救助された。
Alfonso Di Vincenzo / AFP / Getty Images
2015年1月2日、500人余りのシリアからの移民が、エザディーン号でイタリアのコリリアーノ港に到着した。
Giovanni Isolino / AFP / Getty Images
2014年7月2日、シチリアのポッツァーロ港に到着したあと、イタリアの軍用船から降りるのを待つ移民の家族たち。
Angela Rios / AFP / Getty Images
2015年2月19日、モロッコと北アフリカのスペイン領メリリャを隔てる国境のフェンスの上に腰かける移民たち。
Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP / Getty Images
2014年1月23日、ファルマコニシ島そばで起きた事故を生き延びた移民たちがギリシャ、ピレウス港に到着した。
Marco Di Lauro / Getty Images
2005年6月17日、シチリアの移民一時収容センターを発つフェリー船に乗船する人々。
Alfonso Di Vincenzo / AFP / Getty Images
2015年1月2日、イタリアのコリリアーノ港にエザディーン号で到着したシリアからの移民。
Marco Di Lauro / Getty Images
2005年6月10日、イタリアのランペドゥーサ島沖で移民らを引き上げるイタリア関税局の船。\n
Marco Di Lauro / Getty Images
2000年6月10日、イタリアのランペドゥーサ島で、移民一時収容センターに送られるのを待つ人々。\n
Giles Clarke / Getty Images
2014年10月15日、シチリア島で、イタリアの入国管理局の処理を待つ、到着し救助されたばかりの北アフリカの人々。
Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP / Getty Images
2015年4月17日、ギリシャのレスボス島の港で、難破事故に遭った女性が救助船を降りてから我が子を抱きかかえる様子。
ALBERTO PIZZOLI via Getty Images
2015年2月20日、イタリアのランペドゥーサ島で、船に乗るべくフェンスで囲まれたエリアで待つ移民たち。
Tullio M. Puglia via Getty Images
2015年2月20日、イタリアのランペドゥーサ島で、船に乗るべくフェンスで囲まれたエリアで待つ移民たち。
ランペドゥーサ島 移民船転覆事故(2015.4.19)
Italy Migrants(01 of16)
Open Image Modal
** ITALY OUT ** Rescuers help children to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(02 of16)
Open Image Modal
A woman carries a child as she disembarks in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(03 of16)
Open Image Modal
A rescuer, top, cradles a child in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
APTOPIX Italy Migrants(04 of16)
Open Image Modal
** ALTERNATE CROP OF ALT101 ** A rescuer cradles a child in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(05 of16)
Open Image Modal
A rescuer, right, cradles a child in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait. A smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(06 of16)
Open Image Modal
A woman carries a child as she disembarks in the Pozzallo harbor, Sicily, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(07 of16)
Open Image Modal
A migrant is helped disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(08 of16)
Open Image Modal
Migrants wait to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(09 of16)
Open Image Modal
Migrants wait to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(10 of16)
Open Image Modal
Migrants wait to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(11 of16)
Open Image Modal
Migrants wait to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(12 of16)
Open Image Modal
Migrants wait to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(13 of16)
Open Image Modal
Migrants wait to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(14 of16)
Open Image Modal
Migrants are taken into a bus after disembarking in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(15 of16)
Open Image Modal
Migrants wait to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Italy Migrants(16 of16)
Open Image Modal
A woman carries a child as she disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Pozzallo, Italy, early Monday, April 20, 2015. About 100 migrants, including 28 children, were rescued on Sunday by a merchant vessel in the Sicilian Strait while they were trying to cross. Another smuggler\'s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya\'s coast on Saturday as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean\'s deadliest known migrant tragedy and intensifying pressure on the European Union Sunday to finally meet demands for decisive action. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)

この記事はハフポストUS版に掲載されたものを翻訳しました。

【関連記事】

Open Image Modal
ハフィントンポスト日本版はFacebook ページでも情報発信しています