「ヨーロッパか、死か？」

　十代少年の夢はヨーロッパにゆくこと―。
　―何度引き戻されても、何度だって密航を試みよう。そんな世界・。

BBC 'Europe or death' - the teenage migrants risking it all to cross the Med 11 Jul 2023

　まあ一回やそこら救助されたところで、ヨーロッパへの思いを断じることなどないと。そういう決意の者たちは確実にいるわけなのである。

「Migrants saved in one of the first rescue operations in the Mediterranean since hundreds of people died when a boat sank off the Greek coast, say nothing could deter them from trying to reach Europe. They spoke to the BBC's Alice Cuddy - on board a rescue vessel patrolling the sea for migrant boats in distress.」

　タイヤのチューブだけを頼りに、食料も水もろくろくなく航海する。

「One wears the familiar pale blue of a Manchester City football shirt, others are holding iPhones. Few have brought any water or food. Many cannot swim, armed only with the inner tubes of tyres to use as flotation devices should they end up in the sea.」

　うっかりリビアの沿岸警備隊に見つかったらパニックだ。せっかくの数百ドルが無駄になる！

「There is panic during the rescue as a Libyan coastguard vessel appears on the horizon. Many of the boys have previously been pulled back to Libya by its coastguard, which the EU has provided with ships, training and funding.」

　他方、ギリシャ側の沿岸警備隊や難民救助団体につかまったら、先方の手をとって「ああ、ヨーロッパに入れたんだ！」としみじみ実感することだろう。

「Some of the migrants grin as they sit down in the rescue speedboat - one takes a selfie on his phone. One later tells me that when he grabbed the hand of one of the rescuers, he thought: "Now I have entered Europe."」

　そうしてヨーロッパに入り込むか、そうでなければ海で死ぬ。たった二つのオプションしかないんだ―と若者は語る。

「"It's either you reach Europe or you die at sea," the teenager tells me. "There's only two options."」

　健全な社会とは言えまいが、だからといって何がどうなることだろう―。