How could a century-old shipwreck be a source of world havoc in the 21st century? In 1912, the most lavish ship of its time - the Titanic - collided with an iceberg on its maiden voyage to New York from Southampton. As a result, over 1500 of the 2200 passengers lost their lives. This tragic event not only shook the world and had profound worldwide media coverage; rather it gave birth to a similar event 111 years later.
On 18 June 2023, a group of five billionaires- each paying a whopping $250,000- embarked on an audacious adventure, boarding a submersible that lacked even the most basic comforts. The Titan carried British-Pakistani billionaire Shazada Dawood (61), his son Suleman Dawood (19), British billionaire Hamish Harding (58), Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet (77) and OceanGate founder, Stockton Rush (61) - who piloted the submersible. It was a cramped space with no seats and just one solitary toilet, scarcely larger than a bedroom. As the days went by, no communication was received from the billionaires' submersible, raising alarm bells and triggering an international media frenzy. The plight of these wealthy adventurers was now broadcast around the globe, and an extensive international search and rescue mission was launched to locate them. Even months later, the exact cause of the implosion is under investigation, with video simulations of the final hours being recreated and current DNA testing of the recovered human remains being conducted by US authorities. There are multiple experts and scientists working persistently to solve the mystery of the Titan implosion in the deep North Atlantic ocean.
Not too long before, on the 10th of June 2023, a heart-wrenching scene unfolded as 750 refugees left Tobruk, Libya, en route to Italy, desperate to escape the clutches of ongoing wars and abject poverty, defiantly boarding the dilapidated Adriana fishing boat. These migrants were Pakistani, Afghan, Syrian, Egyptian, and Palestinian nationals. Those crammed onto the ramshackle Adriana fishing boat were seeking not adventure but refuge from war, poverty, climate change, and many other life-threatening crises that force people to flee their homes. However, little did they know the perilous journey that lay ahead of them. Around 10 a.m, on Tuesday, the Greek coastguard was alerted that the vessel was nearby. Greek officials claim they were in a difficult situation while deciding what to do with a ship that had repeatedly turned down offers of help in order to sail straight for Italy. According to the Greek coastguard, the boat's engine failed just before one in the morning on Wednesday. The boat then capsized and sank in 10 to 15 minutes. Fast forward to the 14th of June 2023, a grim discovery was made by the Greek coastguard. Amongst the waves, they found 79 lifeless bodies, and a staggering 500 individuals remained unaccounted for. Can we truly fathom the depth of this dire situation? Imagine innocent children losing their parents, siblings being torn apart, and friends vanishing without a trace. It is claimed that Libya was the base of operations for the primary suspect operating a smuggling network spanning Libya, Pakistan, and Greece. The suspected human traffickers possibly ensnared locals, held them captive, and then transferred them abroad after extorting substantial sums of money.
Ladies and gentlemen, what strikes us as baffling is that these two heartrending scenarios occurred within a relatively short time span. However, one of these events received incessant media coverage, while the other remained concealed from the prying eyes of cameras. Both are equally tragic, yet only one captured the world's attention. The refugee incident got close to no media coverage, and it's said that even after following the vessel for hours, the Greek government decided not to launch a rescue mission. Authorities held the refugees accountable for their "choice" of making this journey, which resulted in carnage. The authorities were criticized for their minimal efforts in the search for the missing migrants. Astonishingly, on the other hand, the billionaires onboard the Titan Submarine willingly signed a waiver that mentioned the word 'death' three times on the very first page. Moreover, the fourth page ominously revealed that only 13 out of 90 previous dives had succeeded. Despite these daunting odds, they remained undeterred in their pursuit. At the core of this disparity lies the age-old question of the ‘value theory’—how do we assign worth to a person's life? Is it solely determined by their amassed wealth and financial standing? Should the lives of five billionaires be considered more valuable to the entire international community than those of a group of abandoned migrants who possess nothing but the bare minimum to survive? These profound and unsettling questions force us to confront our priorities as a society. Can we ever change as a whole?
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