U.S. Congressmember Karen Bass will host an Africa Policy Breakfast on "The African Migrant and Refugee Crisis Across the Mediterranean Sea" on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Friday, October 16th, 2015
New York (TADIAS) — The African migrant and refugee crisis across the Mediterranean Sea is the subject of the October 2015 Africa Policy Breakfast Series in Washington, D.C. The event, which is hosted by U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass, aims “to provide a setting for members of Congress and representatives from diverse sectors and backgrounds to discuss critical and timely issues specific to U.S.-Africa policy.”
“From January 2014 to September 2015, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people undertaking crossings of the Mediterranean Sea to seek refuge in Europe,” said the announcement from The Office of Congressmember Bass, who represents the 37th District of California and is the Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Africa. “Nearly a quarter of the estimated 350,000 refugees and migrants who have attempted the crossing originate in refugee-producing nations in Sub-Saharan Africa including: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.”
“This year alone, we have seen several tragic reports of African refugees and migrants drowning at sea in attempts to transit from North Africa to Southern Europe,” Bass added. “The largest and deadliest of these disasters was reported in April, where more than 800 migrants lost their lives in a single incident involving a capsized boat off the coast of Libya. Stories like these are indicative of the larger trend in refugee and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, with persons from Sub-Saharan Africa making up three-fourths of those who have died at sea since 2014.”
The upcoming discussion will include senior representatives from leading U.S. agencies, international non-governmental organizations and the African Diaspora.
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If You Go:
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
From 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM (EDT)
The Gold Room
2168 Rayburn House Office Building
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
RSVP: africanrefugeecrisis.eventbrite.com
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