Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/442526
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 JANUARY 2015 3 CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 With mil- lions of Syrians fleeing the four-year civil war, which has so far claimed some 200,000 lives, people smugglers are targeting well-off Syrians who are prepared to pay more to reach Eu- rope than the sub-Saharan migrants we have become accustomed to can afford. According to the UNHCR some 3,500 refugees died trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2014, while an- other 200,000 were rescued. In 2013, hundreds of Syrian and sub-Saharan asylum seekers died in their attempts to reach Europe aboard rickety boats which departed from Libya. However, now it seems that smug- glers have turned their attention to Syrian migrants and are using safer routes, and considerably bulkier ves- sels. And they have also taken to new ways to advertise these trips, with Facebook pages such as "Taharib taiaran" (airborne smuggling) and "Tahrib bialbar" (sea smuggling) tar- geting Syrians who want to flee their war-torn country. The Facebook pages which include videos and images of the ships adver- tise six-day voyages to Italy departing from Mersin, a busy port city on the southern coast of Turkey close to the Syrian border, for €5,500. They also offer discounted prices for group bookings. The posts on the Facebook pages, all in Arabic, include amatuer videos promoting the provision documents, passports and work permits. "We provide everything you need. Just ask," one of the posts says. According to reports in the Italian daily La Repubblica, traffickers also offer the possibility of providing fake passports, ID cards and international driving licences. One of the Facebook postings refer- ring to a journey from Turkey to Italy, says "Price for adults to $4250; From 10 years to 14 years to $2125; Under 10 years free," and "Good food; water; delivery to Italy." Italian authorities believe traffick- ers made some €2.5 million from 359 illegal migrants found abandoned on one of the cargo ships intercepted last week. Moreover, a Syrian man who was aboard a second cargo ship which was also intercepted last week, re- vealed how he piloted the Moldovan- registered Blue Sky M which carried some 768 Syrian asylum seekers. Sarkas Rani, a 36-year-old Syrian, told Italian authorities how he was contacted in Turkey by smugglers who had posted notices on Facebook offering a passage to Europe. "They promised me US$15,000 and the possibility of sending my entire family over," Rani said during a police interrogation after the Syr- ian was arrested on 31 December in Gallipoli. The Blue Sky M was intercepted on New Year's Eve as it was locked on autopilot, heading for the Italian coast. Rani acknowledged having left the cargo ship's bridge to hide among the other asylum seekers once he had set the ship on autopilot. Italian naval officers boarded the ship eight kilometres off the coast, just in time before it ran aground in what could have been a human catas- trophe. Rani, a former ship captain, was offered the opportunity to pilot the ship by an acquaintance who met him in Istanbul. He then travelled to Mersin from where the ship de- parted. Last week, EU agency Frontex warned that "in a rapid adaptation of strategy" smugglers have started us- ing much larger boats. "These are typically decommis- sioned freighters, up to 75 metres long, procured in the ports of south- eastern Turkey, notably Mersin: a de- parture point still connected by ferry to the Syrian port of Latakia, making it reachable for the tens of thousands of Syrians still fleeing the conflict in their country," Frontex said. The cargo ships, repaired and manned by crews sometimes hired from as far away as Russia, are piloted via Cyprus and Crete towards Italy, Frontex said, adding that smugglers have learned to time the departure of migrant boats so that they cross the paths of merchant ships heading for Europe. The agency pointed out that mi- grants are willing to pay exorbitant prices to book a place on a freighter leaving from Turkey to Europe, six times as much as they'd have to pay to board a ship from Libya. "Travelling from Turkey not only circumvents the considerable danger of capsizing in a small boat in rough seas, but it also avoids having to go to Libya," Frontex said. "This increas- ingly lawless North African nation appears to have become too danger- ous an operating environment, even for the criminal gangs." News www.gourmettoday.recipes Tourism Authority should stop funding Isle of MTV – Michael Zammit Tabona MINISTRY for Tourism money should no longer subsidise events such as Isle of MTV and tenor Joseph Calleja's annual Granaries concert, hotelier Michael Zammit Tabona feels. Though not exactly over the moon about the two events, he is not call- ing for the events to be scrapped, but for other finance sources to be found for them. "The government wastes around €700,000 on those two events each year, and they don't attract tourists to Malta," Zammit Tabona, who owns the Fortina Hotel and Spa, said on Monday night's edition of the current affairs programme 'Report- er', which dealt with tourism. In comments to MaltaToday, he added that any government funding for these two events should come out of the budget vote of the Ministry for Culture, rather than the Ministry for Tourism. "The Ministry for Tourism should subsidise events like the Baroque Festival and DJ Annie Mac's upcom- ing Easter concert, that are expected to attract thousands of tourists to Malta," the hotelier said. "However, the Isle of MTV and Joseph Calleja concerts cater for the local market and as such should not be funded by the Malta Tourism Authority." Thousands of people pack the Gra- naries every summer to watch the Isle of MTV concert that has previ- ously featured international artistes such as Enrique Iglesias, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg and the Black Eyed Peas. However, Zammit Tabona is "abso- lutely certain" that the vast majority of the faces in the crowd are Maltese and not tourists. "The performing artistes are only announced two or three weeks be- fore the actual concert," the hotelier pointed out. "No potential tourist is going to book flights to Malta before they know who will be per- forming and by the time they find out, flight tickets would be too ex- pensive. Also, three weeks is far too short a timespan to market the event properly." Although Shadow Tourism Min- ister Robert Arrigo agreed that the government could use the money it spends on the Isle of MTV concert more wisely, Tourism Minister Ed- ward Zammit Lewis argued that the touristic value of Isle of MTV lies beyond the direct presence of tour- ists who visit Malta specifically for the event. "Isle of MTV is broadcast around the world and helps change the per- ception among youths that Malta is solely a touristic destination for senior citizens," the minister said. Speaking to MaltaToday, Zammit Tabona countered the minister's ar- gument. "It might have helped improve Malta's image in the past, but it's gone stale now," he said. "Even the singers who perform at Isle of MTV now aren't of the same calibre as the ones who performed in the past." To niche or not to niche Zammit Lewis has not shied away from his opinion that the next step in Malta's tourism story should be to start attracting upmarket and high- spending tourists. However, Zam- mit Tabona vehemently believes that the government should build on Malta's mass tourism by tapping into new markets and he had previously called for the resignation of the Mal- ta Hotels and Restaurants Associa- tion president due to his belief they should prioritise upmarket tourism. Indeed, Zammit Tabona said that the Malta Tourism Authority should use the money it will save by not or- ganising Isle of MTV and the Calleja concert on a marketing campaign in China. "I firmly believe that a €1.4 million marketing campaign will eventually start attracting over 100,000 Chi- nese tourists to Malta per year. "Why risk the mass tourism that we already have for the sake of nich- es that may not even exist?" However, Kenneth Zammit Tabo- na, artistic director of the Valletta International Baroque Festival and a cousin of Michael, pointed out that one-off events can yield large sums of money through tourism. "The Baroque Festival generated €4 million to the economy last year and will possibly generate even more this year," he said. "Around half of the people who will attend this year's festival are tourists. The Phoenicia Hotel has gone from having to close down its doors in January to being fully booked." He also dismissed his cousin's claims that Isle of MTV doesn't at- tract tourists to the island. "Michael is absolutely certain about a lot of things. All I know is that the venue is always packed. Since so much money is spent on the concert, perhaps a study should be carried out to find out exactly how many tourists come to Malta to watch it." Kenneth Zammit Tabona: Michael is absolutely certain about a lot of things. All I know is that the venue is always packed Michael Zammit Tabona on Isle of MTV: No potential tourist is going to book flights to Malta before they know who will be performing and by the time they find out, flight tickets would be too expensive Traffickers selling fake passports and ID cards The 'luxury' boats offered by the human traffickers. One of the Facebook postings referring to a journey from Turkey to Italy, says "Price for adults to $4250; From 10 years to 14 years to $2125; Under 10 years free," and "Good food; water; delivery to Italy."