*'If asylum is a human right, how come people have to die trying to claim it?'

Fortress Europe 'Kills' again -4 more Deaths - Second Tragedy in Four Days

     A customs official found the bodies of four refugees on Tuesday 11th December, inside a shipping container in the port city of Livorno on Italy's Tuscan coast.
     An ambulance man said the air was unbreathable when the container was opened. The refugees were not long dead and another ambulance with special breathing apparatus was called but it was too late. The cold may also have been a factor in their deaths as the inside of the container was like a fridge.
     One of the young men had a phone with him. A bag with photos of two babies, presumably the children of one of the victims was also found.
     The container came from Modena (provincial capital of Emilio Romagna) and should have left on Wednesday for Canada.
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Eight refugees murdered - 'Coffin Ships' Return to Ireland

     Eight refugees - thought to be Romanians, were found dead inside a container at the Irish port of Waterford, on Saturday 8th December. It is believed that the refugees had been locked in the container for at least nine days. The refugees were discovered after the driver heard faint noises from inside.

     The deceased were a four-year-old boy and a boy and girl of 10, four men and a woman. They were among a group of 13 refugees concealed in a container of furniture which arrived from Belgium on Thursday at Waterford's international sea freight terminal, Belview.

     Five survivors, four men and a woman and aged between 17 and 35, were taken to Wexford General Hospital in a semi-comatose state.

The condition of four of them has improved but one woman was described as still "very serious".

*The survivors, will be permitted to stay in Ireland if they want to do so.
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Statement from National Network of Refugee,

Asylum Seekers and Immigrant Support Groups

This is another terrible crime committed by Fortress Europe

     This weekend as NNRASISGs, 'Integrating Ireland' was meeting in Athlone the news broke that eight people, including three children, were found dead in a container in Co. Wexford.

     The frustration, anger and sadness of the delegates was palpable as they expressed their sympathy to the families and communities of the bereaved.

     Their tragic deaths reflect the desperation of people as they seek a better life free of danger and persecution. However it also highlights the desperate people must take when they are forced into the hands of human traffickers.

     In their flight to safety people now face huge barriers and restrictions - restrictions put in place by our government. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the effective closure of Rosslare Harbour as an entry point for asylum seekers has played a major role in these tragic deaths.

     In the last year the Irish Authorities, in creating a Fortress Europe, have increased the barriers to asylum-seekers entering Ireland by placing immigration officers outside the state. These measures force people to use dangerous means as they seek to enter the sanctuary of Ireland.

     'Integrating Ireland' calls on the Government to honour the spirit of the UN Geneva Convention 1951 to allow people enter Ireland in safety in order to seek asylum. Only then will 'coffin ships' be consigned to history.
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'Coffin Ships'
     In the mid 1800s, life was at an all time low for the native Irish people of British occupied Ireland. British rule meant constant persecution, racism, destruction of homes and all the food produced, (except for the potato crop) was taken and shipped to Britain. With the failure of the potato crop the native Irish suffered chronic famine, though there was an abundance of wheat, barley etc they were not allowed to purchase it, even if they could afford it.

Economic migration was the only escape:
      10's of thousands of Irish families sought passage to America and Canada. 'Coffin ships' were the only way to escape, but were fatal to many of the passengers. Ships captains were desperate to have a full ship (more people on board, greater the profit) so they carried passengers as cargo.

     Due to the lack of room on these ships, disease spread quickly and easily, causing the deaths of 20% to 40% of the passengers.

     The death toll was so high that you could line gravestone's across the Atlantic Ocean from one shore to the other.
      In some instances, sharks followed these coffin ships waiting for the bodies of the newly deceased.
    The state of health of those who survived the journey was so bad, that Canada routinely quarantined them all.

safehaveneireann@hotmail.com
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     Saturday's gruesome discovery recalled the 18th June 2000 in Dover, England, when police officers opened the back doors of a Dutch truck after it disembarked from a ferry to find the bodies of 58 Chinese immigrants who had suffocated in its sweltering interior.

Massacre at Dover - 58 "Sans Papiers" found dead

58 Dead and Nothing Said: (In anger and memory of the 58 Chinese forced by Europe's Draconian asylum laws to resort to methods which proved fatal whilst trying to seek refuge in the UK, deceased June 18th 2000)

Posted Sunday 9th December 2001
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