Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

A quote from Rosa Luxemburg, when she wrote about the atrocities in the German Revolution, is very apt in light of the migration crisis that has been unfolding on Europe's borders: "Usually a corpse is a silent, unhandsome thing, but sometimes dead bodies speak louder than trumpets and shine brighter than torches." The harrowing images of three year old Aylan Kurdi washed up on a beach and of the scores of bodies found suffocated in the back of a truck in Austria have served as a torch for people across Europe. There has been a massive outpouring of solidarity with those who are fleeing war and poverty in Syria and other parts of the world, including Afghanistan, the Middle East and north Africa.

Recent events have highlighted the bloody, tragic reality of fortress Europe. Over the past 20 years, some 20,000 people have died trying to enter Europe. This year alone, more than 2,500 migrants are believed to have been drowned. The European powers have a responsibility for this. They are not just the charitable benefactors here. They are responsible for it. They are responsible for the racist policies of fortress Europe. They are responsible for the Europe-based arms industry profiting to the tune of billions from the conflict in Syria. They are responsible for stoking up the conflict in Syria by supporting air strikes and pumping arms into the country. Their support for the invasion of Iraq led to the creation and formation of ISIS and the massive instability across the region.

I invite Deputies to look at the conclusions from the last Council and at the plans for the Valletta conference in November, both of which focus on having the north African states act as a buffer against migration and plans to increase EU intervention in north Africa and the Sahara region, including so-called initiatives in the field of law enforcement. This is no solution. If we sink the boats of people traffickers, migrants will be driven into even more perilous and desperate measures to try to make it to Europe. They will take more risks and more of them will die. I suggest that further backing for the EU strategy for the Sahel will not work, as it is a thinly veiled support for increased imperialist intervention in the region and the backing of French imperialism in particular.

Military intervention is driving the refugee crisis. Approximately 85% of the migrants who arrive in Greece come from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, all of which have seen Western military intervention. Any solution must be based on ending imperialist interventions, upholding the right of people to asylum and following the lead that has been shown by people across Europe. I refer to the outpouring of solidarity we have seen in response to the mass movement of refugees and their allies. There is need to tear down the fences, break down the racist borders, bring down the racist fortress that is Europe and fight for a decent life for everybody. In this State, that should involve immediately abolishing direct provision and giving people the right to work.

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