Why migrants and marine explorers are equal in God’s eyes

The death of five people on the Titan submersible and up to 500 on a migrant boat off Greece were both tragic, says Tim Farron. But they did not provoke an equal response – from the media or the authorities

Last week, an estimated 500 people drowned following the sinking of a migrant boat off the coast of Greece. Most of them were believed to be women and children. Almost simultaneously, five people went missing after contact was lost with a private submersible, diving to the wreck of the Titanic. After several days it was confirmed that they, too, were dead.

Two sobering and shocking tragedies, but one garnered far more of the world’s attention than the other. Why is that, when the lives of one group are not more important than the other? Romans 2:11 reminds us that “God does not show favouritism”, but perhaps we humans regularly do.