MORE than 700 men women and children trying to cross from Libya to Europe have drowned in one incident. They were people who had been living in areas of conflict, including Libya itself.

What makes people take such awful risks, to try to get away from where they have lived all their lives and travel to a country where the language and culture are totally different from their own? Where they have no job to go to, don’t know anybody and can bring no possessions.

It is very difficult for us in the West to comprehend why anyone would take such risks. We do not face ongoing conflict from opposing forces; we do not face the possibility of being shot by a sniper as we try to buy food or go about our daily lives; we do not face days of erratic or no water or electricity supplies; we do not face the possibility of arrest, torture or kidnap if we are on the wrong side.

So many people today live in uncertainty, are unable to carry on a normal life and fear for their own lives and those of their children. We have all seen pictures of traumatised adults and children on our television screens who have seen and experienced what no adult and certainly no child should have to.

Christianity, human morality, says it is not acceptable to let these people drown. Neither is it acceptable to let one country be totally responsible for dealing with such a humanitarian crisis. This is something which requires a response from all of Europe, which recognises the extreme circumstances which drives people to take such risks to try to reach a place where they can live without fear and feel secure, things which we all have a right to.

The Rev Gill Hall

Retired priest, Lothersdale