Conscience is a strange beast. For single acts it keeps us in check, and through steady watchfulness it briefly holds society together. In this way it defines “criminal behavior” and punishes by imposing guilt on the mind of any first-time perpetrator. But as I said, it’s a strange beast that at times sits like a gargoyle perched high on the side of a building. Although a single criminal act gets its attention, repeated acts bore it. It observes them through the indifferent gaze of stone or bronze eyes.
Reporting in Der Spiegel Online, Alexander Buhler et al. estimate that between 2013 and 2016 more than 10,000 African migrants drowned in attempts to reach Europe.* The migrants’ deaths occurred during the current Great Migration arranged by smugglers who profit greatly from their business. Ehiopian Ermias Ghermay, who holds Eritrean citizenship, is one of those successful smugglers. He stands out among smugglers because a boat he arranged capsized off Lampedusa: More than 300 migrants, none with lifejackets, drowned. Ghermay had arranged for the boat but no lifejackets.
According to the reporters, in a phone call to another smuggler from Sudan, Ghermay said he had a “clear conscience” and the refugees had only themselves to blame because they “didn’t follow his instructions and carelessly caused the boat to capsize.” Ghermay supposedly said, “If I followed the rules and they died anyway, then it’s fate.” The Sudanese smuggler added, “There is no appeal against God’s judgment.” Conscience-free, Ermias and others continue to smuggle Eritreans, Ethiopians, and others into Europe. Their only concerns seem to be their own safety and profits. Ermias guards both with a small cadre of well-armed protectors hiding somewhere in Libya. With an estimated 235,000 others waiting to cross the Mediterranean in unseaworthy vessels, the smuggler has a profitable, conscience-free future.
The gargoyle of conscience looks when it chooses. First acts catch its attention, but it tires of looking. Feeling guiltless? I hope it’s not because stone eyes are watching.
* http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/migrant-smuggling-business-means-big-money-in-libya-a-1113654.html
Reporting in Der Spiegel Online, Alexander Buhler et al. estimate that between 2013 and 2016 more than 10,000 African migrants drowned in attempts to reach Europe.* The migrants’ deaths occurred during the current Great Migration arranged by smugglers who profit greatly from their business. Ehiopian Ermias Ghermay, who holds Eritrean citizenship, is one of those successful smugglers. He stands out among smugglers because a boat he arranged capsized off Lampedusa: More than 300 migrants, none with lifejackets, drowned. Ghermay had arranged for the boat but no lifejackets.
According to the reporters, in a phone call to another smuggler from Sudan, Ghermay said he had a “clear conscience” and the refugees had only themselves to blame because they “didn’t follow his instructions and carelessly caused the boat to capsize.” Ghermay supposedly said, “If I followed the rules and they died anyway, then it’s fate.” The Sudanese smuggler added, “There is no appeal against God’s judgment.” Conscience-free, Ermias and others continue to smuggle Eritreans, Ethiopians, and others into Europe. Their only concerns seem to be their own safety and profits. Ermias guards both with a small cadre of well-armed protectors hiding somewhere in Libya. With an estimated 235,000 others waiting to cross the Mediterranean in unseaworthy vessels, the smuggler has a profitable, conscience-free future.
The gargoyle of conscience looks when it chooses. First acts catch its attention, but it tires of looking. Feeling guiltless? I hope it’s not because stone eyes are watching.
* http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/migrant-smuggling-business-means-big-money-in-libya-a-1113654.html
RSS Feed