On the picturesque Aegean island of Limnos, a new surveillance system is being field-tested this week. If effective, its thermal sensors, camera balloons, ship transponders, and satellite links will provide a 15,000-square-mile panopticon view of approaching boats. In another world, this could be an aid for rescuing people adrift at sea. But in this world, the European Union agency operating the system works to do exactly the opposite.

The agency in question, known as Frontex (European Border and Coast Guard Agency), is currently the subject of a complaint in the Rome prosecutor’s office that makes for grim reading. When NGOs desperately tried to draw authorities’ attention to an ailing refugee boat over a twenty-four-hour period on April 22, they were ignored. The result was that 130 people lost their lives.

The Aegean tests have been planned for some time. But now they have taken on a new context, with the Taliban capture of Kabul sparking a new and dire refugee emergency. More than 2 million Afghans have already had to flee. Neighboring countries will absorb most of them, but many will be pushed further afield. Already last year, 44,000 Afghans pleaded for asylum in Europe. Now, far more people need help — and a place to live.