“16 dead and 36 injured after bus carrying migrants and locals crashes in Mexico.”

“Around 350 Pakistanis were on [a] migrant boat that sank off Greece and many still missing, official says.”

“Hundreds of migrants killed by Saudi border guards.”

These are just some of the headlines we have seen since the start of the summer. 

Every day, and potentially at a marginally higher rate than we, the public, know of, hundreds of migrants are murdered or have disappeared.

So, unless you’re not already thinking about it, I’ll ask: why haven’t you heard about these things? Why has virtually no one spoken out about these things? And would the reaction be the same had the lives lost been ones that society valued more?

Probably not.

Think about it. 

Say there was a crash on your local public bus route. Sixteen people died and 36 people were injured. In this hypothetical scenario, wouldn’t the public empathize with or advocate for those in the crash? Would you hear about this situation in the mainstream media, or would it be barely touched on, like the Mexican migrants?

Let’s say that around 350 Americans were on a cruise ship, which sank and left hundreds missing. What would the outcry for that scenario be like? Would it be comparable or contrary to that of the empathy, or lack thereof, for Pakistani migrants?

If any of these questions sparked some thought for you, you may be wondering, why does this happen? 

Well, there are many theories for how individuals cannot feel for individuals we can’t identify with, and today, I will explain that of John Rawls: The Veil of Ignorance. 

According to this theory, we simply cannot empathize with people different from us. We can’t imagine what it’s like to be a migrant. 

Rawls argued that if we put personal experiences aside, we would create rules that benefit everyone, regardless of circumstances. We would want to create a fair society where every person, regardless of limiting factors, has an equal opportunity to succeed.

When we see migrants as fellow human beings, we are more likely to demand action to protect their rights. We are more likely to support policies that welcome and support migrants rather than turning them away.

The suffering of migrants is a problem at the international level, and it is a problem that we must not ignore. 

So, the next time you see a headline about migrant deaths, take a moment to think about the human cost of these tragedies. 

Put yourself in the shoes of the migrants who are risking their lives to seek a better life. 

Imagine what it would be like to be separated from your family, to live in fear of violence, and to have no hope for the future.

We all have a responsibility to speak out against the suffering of migrants. We can demand action from our governments to protect the rights of migrants and to create a more just and equitable world for all.