We have just witnessed another deadly two weeks in the Mediterranean. Capturing the attention of people in Malta and elsewhere is the death of Loujin, a four-year-old Syrian girl, who, in late August, left Lebanon with her mother and one-year-old sister, Mira. They travelled on a boat with 58 other people and, after 10 days at sea, on September 4, began to send distress signals, reporting that they had been without food or water for two days. These were relayed by activists to the Maltese armed forces (AFM). We know the AFM were aware of the case because, at this point, its coordinating centre ordered the merchant vessel Sti Solace to change course but did not order it to intervene. The next day, another merchant vessel, the MV UNO, flying a Maltese flag, arrived on scene but left without intervening. That same day, the travellers reported water entering their boat. Yet, it would be another two days, not until September 7, before the freighter BBC Pearl rescued them and a Greek navy helicopter airlifted Loujin and her mother to a hospital in Crete. There, Loujin was pronounced dead. The Maltese authorities ignored the many distress calls that these people sent over multiple...