Whether it's from the goodness of their hearts or from economic necessity, the fact remains that western countries with largely Christian historical traditions (I never claimed that they are today Christian states in the way that Islamic states are officially Islamic) are some of the most tolerant and open societies on Earth. No other cultural regions in the world match this level of tolerance or openness. That is absolutely worth considering in any discussion like this. It has a certain practical moral weight that it's dishonest to ignore.
As for what you mention about the migrants in the Mediterranean, bear in mind a couple points:
1. The governments of the EU are not killing these migrants themselves. Most of those that tragically die do so because of their own extremely dangerous efforts to desperately reach a continent that they know will largely treat them better than their own homelands do.
2. You mention tens of thousands. That's an awful number, but compared to the millions of immigrants that do reach and eventually get accepted by the continent through many programs and laws that later assist them, it needs to be placed in perspective, both morally and practically.
3. Even if a certain percentage of migrants suffer repercussions in their attempts to reach Europe, the states of the Union do have a basic right to make efforts at protecting their borders from unregulated entry. They can't be held responsible for this being dangerous to illegal migrants or even in some cases tragic. That their entry should be difficult is indeed part of the point. Much more blame should be assigned to the governments of the countries they came from, which made things so intolerant and economically/socially corrupt as to provoke mass flight.
As for what you mention about the migrants in the Mediterranean, bear in mind a couple points:
1. The governments of the EU are not killing these migrants themselves. Most of those that tragically die do so because of their own extremely dangerous efforts to desperately reach a continent that they know will largely treat them better than their own homelands do.
2. You mention tens of thousands. That's an awful number, but compared to the millions of immigrants that do reach and eventually get accepted by the continent through many programs and laws that later assist them, it needs to be placed in perspective, both morally and practically.
3. Even if a certain percentage of migrants suffer repercussions in their attempts to reach Europe, the states of the Union do have a basic right to make efforts at protecting their borders from unregulated entry. They can't be held responsible for this being dangerous to illegal migrants or even in some cases tragic. That their entry should be difficult is indeed part of the point. Much more blame should be assigned to the governments of the countries they came from, which made things so intolerant and economically/socially corrupt as to provoke mass flight.