ABC News Discovers Drowning Migrants, Forgets Root Causes
ABC News dutifully reports on dozens missing after a boat carrying 200 migrants capsized off Gambia, a horrific but increasingly common tragedy. What's omitted, as always, is the deeper context: these desperate voyages are often a direct result of economic instability, resource depletion, and neo-colonial policies that strip African nations of their wealth and opportunities. The 'migrant crisis'
isn't a natural phenomenon; it's a consequence of geopolitical design, frequently involving Western corporations and governments. While the news focuses on the human cost at sea, it rarely questions whose policies offshore fishing fleets from Europe deplete West African waters, or how Western-backed coups and trade agreements destabilize local economies. How many more nameless victims must perish
before the media connects the dots between desperate journeys and the extractive wealth accumulation of developed nations, often facilitated by their own political and economic institutions?