http://migrantsatsea.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/chappatte-on-the-latest-disaster-at-lampedusa-2/

Giorgio Borg Olivier once considered selling Malta’s stratosphere to the US. Fascinating bit of history, that.

Lives weren’t lost because Malta couldn’t cope.

Lives were lost because Muscat was throwing tantrums.

In the end, he got what he wanted. Most of the migrants didn’t come here. They drowned and were never found.

Our SAR brings in revenue every time a plane flies through the corresponding air space. That’s the bit they never talk about when whining about SAR responsibility.

Malta’s “vast search and rescue region” is a pre-1964 legacy. What if it is cut down to size commensurate with our air and naval assets?

Does our SAR region have anything to do with potential oil exploration?

What are the pros and cons of reducing our SAR region?

My point – neither Italy or Malta should be left in charge when saving lives conflicts with their national interest.

Your point – notwithstanding all said, Malta was in charge on the day.

Fair enough. However, the present state of affairs is not working and is therefore not acceptable. If changes are not made, more lives will be lost at sea.

It’s too late for a U-turn. The dead aren’t coming back, the missing won’t be found, and the mourners have a lifetime of regret ahead of them.

250+ people died needlessly, some possibly a slow, lingering death, tortured by the knowledge that they’d been overlooked and left behind.

No. Malta is culpable too, possibly more than Italy.

Muscat has repeatedly said – most recently in today’s news – that migrants should be taken to the nearest port. The boat was close to Lampedusa but in Malta’s SAR.

It isn’t difficult to work out that the delays were because Muscat – egged on by Mallia, no doubt – was stamping his feet while Letta blocked his ears.

They weren’t all Syrian. Many were Palestinian, making theirs a double displacement.