Hundreds feared drowned off Libya

[steven johnson]

Source: BBC

More than 300 African migrants are feared dead after their boats sank off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says.
A few bodies have washed ashore after at least one and possibly three boats capsized in very high winds.
Libyan officials say 21 people are confirmed dead and about 20 rescued.
The IOM says the death toll could be as high as 500 and it has reports of many migrant boats leaving Libya in the past two days.
According to IOM figures, at least 33,000 people crossed from North Africa to the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2008 alone.
One vessel carrying more than 250 people reportedly ran into difficulty shortly after setting off on Sunday from Sidi Bilal, near Libya's capital, Tripoli.




Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7973322.stm

[aquart]

1. Where were they escaping from?

That no one would voluntarily take them in?

[happyslug]

2. These are Economic Refugees, going to Europe looking for work

These are NOT Political Refugees escaping from despotic rule, but economic refugees looking for a place to find work. As economic Refugees they have less rights in most countries of the world and can be shipped back to their homeland, just like the US ships back economic refuges to Central America and Mexico all the time.