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Who: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ
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A Troublesome Conflict

05 May 2015 | Pago Pago, American Samoa
Kimball Corson
Compassion is squarely pitted against self preservation or at least the European way of life. Rafts, in some cases literally, of illegal migrants from Somalia (Muslims, all), Africa and the war torn parts of the Muslim world are trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya and northern Africa and get into Southern Europe. While only a sea, the Med in a fit, can be as treacherous as any ocean. Stowed in vessels not up to the task, illegal migrants are dying in numbers trying to make the crossing to Europe and a better life. From Europe's point of view, a large wave of illegal immigrants is trying to lay siege to its geography and way of life. As Horace put it, those who cross seas, change their skies, but not their souls. Immigrants' luggage and their problems come with them.

For its part, and after considerable experience with an earlier Muslim influx, Europe is quietly electing to close its doors. It is reducing search and rescue operations in the eastern Med and telling humanitarian organizations which are protesting the loss of life from crossing attempts, that it will study the problem in the future. It is largely a stall and dodge. Expect more of it. Europe is eschewing compassion and electing self preservation of its way of life, in the face of a bare brown-footed, illiterate Muslim onslaught. But lives in some numbers are at stake.

And there is the conflict. Is Europe wrong? What should it do? Who is to bear the expense? Aren't the decisions of Muslim migrants their own responsibility? What role here should compassion play? What of Europe's earlier bad experiences with Muslim immigrants. Is being Muslim becoming synonymous with being a large or small problem? Is the phrase "a good Muslim" becoming oxymoronic?

My personal solution is spend the money on SAR to save lives, but then ship them back to Africa and not let them into Europe. Other parts of the world similar to, but safer than where they came from, are not war torn and habitable.Think of the expense as a collateral cost of doing business or living the way the Europeans do. The expense is not really that large. This balances a measure of compassion with significant protection of Europe's way of life. Europe still has its hands full with the last wave of Muslim migrants.
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Vessel Name: Altaira
Vessel Make/Model: A Fair Weather Mariner 39 is a fast (PHRF 132), heavily ballasted (43%), high-aspect (6:1), stiff, comfortable, offshore performance cruiser by Bob Perry that goes to wind well (30 deg w/ good headway) and is also good up and down the Beaufort scale.
Hailing Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ
Crew: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
About:
Kimball Corson: I am a 75 year old solo sailor, by choice. However, I did take on a personable, but high maintenance female kitten, now a full grown cat, named KiKiPoo when she is sweet, or KatKatPo after she has just killed something like a bird or bat. [...]
Extra:
Although I was a lawyer and practiced law with good success for thirty years, creating significant new law, I never really believed in the law, the politics of law or in the over reaching self-interest of most lawyers I met. Too much exposure to Nietzsche and other good and seriously thoughtful [...]
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Profile

Who: Kimball Corson. Text and Photos not disclaimed or that are obviously not mine are copyright (c) Kimball Corson 2004-2016
Port: Lake Pleasant, AZ