Titanic sub and Greek migrant ship: An Orwellian reminder that some deaths are more equal than others

A part of the world, which the Western media often deems as 'whole world', was glued to TV screens this week as maritime pundits explained the multinational rescue effort which followed the catastrophic implosion of a five-people submersible that went missing while downfaring the Titanic’s wreck in Atlantic ocean.

As described in this WION explainer, a catastrophic implosion occurs when a vessel collapses on itself due to overwhelming internal pressure. That is, when the pressure within a confined space becomes too much for the structure to bear, it leads to a catastrophic collapse.

Also watch | 'Titan' submersible overshadows the death of migrants

The mean net worth of five people on-board who succumbed to the direly suffocating yet avoidable tragedy on Titan submersible is $2.11 billion, according to multiple reports curated as part of the terrifically frenzied round-the-clock coverage of the preceding rescue effort that followed the disaster. 

But nobody knows the net worth of Raja Awais, 19, one of the 11 men from a tiny village named Bandli in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir who was among 750 people aboard a boat that sank off the Greek coast in the same week. Nearly 80 people are confirmed dead in that tragedy with up to 500 people still missing.

Raja Awais is deemed missing after a shipwreck off the Greek coast | Associated Press

The experts, such as the acclaimed Titanic director James Cameron, have breathlessly explained the submersible tragedy earlier this week.

It may be years before another such seafaring vessel would make an attempt to approach the ill-fated ship that sank in its maiden voyage in early 20th century. There will be more safety measures in place to ensure that world's billionaires no longer succumb to their own "distinct spirit of adventure" and a fragile and often unverifiable "passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans".

An Orwellian reminder

An Orwellian reality has unfolded for the world which remains missing in the western media’s assumption of the ‘whole world’. That some deaths are more equal than others. That you have to be rich enough for your life or death to have any meaning for the world you live in, and 24/7 blow by blow live coverage on TV and online.

George Orwell (1903-1950) | Wikimedia Commons

That if you had a Pakistani or a poor West Asian or African nation's passport, and you were desperately fleeing the dire economic straits of the nation you were born in – unlike your  wealthier counterparts – your death would not make for a front page banner headline screaming the avoidable tragedies that you died in. 

That nations wouldn't be held accountable even when there is verifiable footage that shows authorities abandoning you at sea. Those walls will be built. A pandemic would make for a compelling bureaucratic reason for the most powerful nation in the world to deny the poorest of the world refuge or asylum. 

Migrants gather between the primary and secondary border fences in San Diego as the United States prepares to lift COVID-19 era restrictions known as Title 42, that have blocked migrants at the U.S.- Mexico border from seeking asylum since 2020, as seen from Tijuana, Mexico May 8, 2023 | Reuters

Empathy, which creates remarkable art in the form of books and films, would be devised to show in the coming years the five adventurous men downfaring the Atlantic to see Titanic's remains.

But for Raja Awais of Bandli village, the part of the world which Eurocentric media deems as 'whole world', would cease to be empathetic even after death.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) 

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