No other options
Unlike the citizens of European countries, most people-on-the-move do not have the luxury of traveling by plane, train, or even ferry. They do not qualify for visa-free travel to Europe and if they do manage to go to a consulate to apply for a visa, they are almost always rejected. As a result, one of the only avenues available to them is to travel irregularly to an EU member country.
While the right to apply for asylum is enshrined in International and European law, most countries require an asylum application to be lodged from within their borders. This forces people-on-the-move to embark on dangerous journeys through unsafe countries, often leading to a dangerous boat ride across the Mediterranean. They put their lives at risk out of necessity; if they had the option to travel legally or via safer modes of transportation, they would.
The absence of legal and safe routes to reach EU member states has caused an increase in the demand for smugglers and given rise to many dangerous crossings across the Mediterranean, leading to increased loss of life.
A video, made by VICE, was released two weeks ago, following Open Arms in their rescue missions in Mediterranean sea. Follow this link to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5kIbQRjJHk
EU Policies
Instead of confronting the reality of migration, European Union member states have sought to increase the barriers to irregular migration. They have sought to achieve this through cooperation with neighbouring countries to prevent people from traveling to Europe. The Union has encouraged countries, like Turkey and Libya, to not only stop people from leaving but also intercept boats that have already departed and bring passengers back. While these policies might be temporarily successful in decreasing migration along certain routes, they increase migration along other, unsafe, illegal passages. They also expose people-on-the-move to increased exploitation and violence from both smugglers and corrupt officials as are forced into this situation as the only option. It forces people to remain in unsafe countries where they face the threat of having their basic human rights violated.
Migration routes are constantly changing in response to changing EU policies. Back in 2012, Greece completed the construction of a four-metre tall, barbed-wire fence that stretches 10.5km along the Greek-Turkish border. Consequently, irregular arrivals via the land border decreased by 95% but were immediately accompanied by a sharp increase in the number of irregular passages across the Aegean Sea. Also, very recently in late 2020, construction started along the section of the Evros border strengthening and extending the existing fence in Kastanies. There has also been the creation of a surveillance system with thermal cameras and a construction of a new fence in Feres.
Most recently in 2020, there has been announcement of the New Pact of Migration and Asylum. The Pact risks exacerbating the focus on externalisation, deterrence, containment and return. As a result, it has been heavily criticised by organisations, human rights watchdogs and civil society networks.
Other EU strategies have also had a detrimental effect on the safety of people-on-the-move at sea, often done in the name of fighting smuggling and saving lives. Policies such as destroying the boats used to transport people-on-the-move have caused smugglers to shift to using cheaper and less safe inflatable boats to minimise their costs. Similarly, the criminalisation of NGO rescue missions at sea and the increasingly frequent use of pushbacks by European border authorities have made it significantly more difficult for people-on-the-move to arrive safely and access their fundamental right to claim asylum.
These examples illustrate the continuous pattern of European authorities cracking down on popular migration routes, only to have new ones, which are often longer and more dangerous, emerge elsewhere.
Deaths & missing in the Mediterranean
People-on-the-move have been forced to take longer and more dangerous sea routes, with many losing their lives in the attempt to find sanctuary in Europe. The Mediterranean Sea has been labelled the ‘Maritime Cemetery’ due to the overwhelming number of reports and images of mass shipwrecks and deaths. The death of Alan Kurdi in 2015, at the peak of the crisis, is a stark reminder of the reality for many crossing the Mediterranean. Alan Kurdi was a Syrian child whose body was washed up on a beach in Turkey after him and his family attempted the journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Greece. Between 2015 and 2016, an estimated 1.4 million people made the crossing into Europe, with an estimated 9,000 people dying on their journey. Most deaths occurred in the Mediterranean.
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Between 2014 and 2020, IOM estimated that approximately 21,000 people have died making the crossing in the Mediterranean. Also, IOM reported that in just the first part of 2021 an estimated 4,118 people-on-the-move managed to reach Europe, while at least 117 have died (as of 6th Feb). The number of people who died is unacceptably high. Something to keep in mind is that these are all estimated and often many deaths are never reported.
For a death to be reported, a body often has to be found. But, many people that go missing are never found, so the reality is the number of deaths is much higher than what is reported. A famous case of missing people in the Mediterranean is the ‘Ghost Boat’. On 24th June 2014, a boat containing at least 243 people left the Libyan coast, on course for Italy, but disappeared without a trace. This case has to date never been solved and any existence of these people has seemingly disappeared.
Deaths in the Mediterranean have become so common in the recent decade that they have become simply statistics. Because of this, this issue has ceased to garner much attention from the news media or politicians. But, we must not accept these deaths as inevitable and instead fight to change the European policies responsible for pushing people to risk their lives at sea. There is an urgent need to significantly expand safe and legal routes for those wishing to seek asylum or reunite with loved ones, to prevent additional unnecessary deaths from occurring at Europe’s borders.
It’s important to remember that no one makes such a dangerous journey that risks their lives for the sake of doing so. People make these journeys when they believe it is necessary to do so. In the eloquent words of Warsan Shire:
“no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.”
ESRC. 2017. Dynamics of migration across the Mediterranean. Available from: https://esrc.ukri.org/news-events-and-publications/evidence-briefings/dynamics-of-migration-across-the-mediterranean/ [Accessed 03/02/2021]
MSF. 2020. In 2020, 10 people die or go missing trying to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea on average each week. Available from: https://www.msf.org/mediterranean-migration-depth [Accessed 03/02/2021]
UNHCR, Situation in the Mediterranean. Available from: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean [Accessed: 05/02/2021]
VICE. 2021. Inside The World’s Deadliest Migrant Route. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5kIbQRjJHk [Accessed 30/01/2021]
IWM. 2020. Crossing the Mediterranean by Boat. Available from: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/refugees-crossing-the-mediterranean-sea-by-boat [Accessed 03/02/2021]
No other options
Unlike the citizens of European countries, most people-on-the-move do not have the luxury of traveling by plane, train, or even ferry. They do not qualify for visa-free travel to Europe and if they do manage to go to a consulate to apply for a visa, they are almost always rejected. As a result, one of the only avenues available to them is to travel irregularly to an EU member country.
While the right to apply for asylum is enshrined in International and European law, most countries require an asylum application to be lodged from within their borders. This forces people-on-the-move to embark on dangerous journeys through unsafe countries, often leading to a dangerous boat ride across the Mediterranean. They put their lives at risk out of necessity; if they had the option to travel legally or via safer modes of transportation, they would.
The absence of legal and safe routes to reach EU member states has caused an increase in the demand for smugglers and given rise to many dangerous crossings across the Mediterranean, leading to increased loss of life.
A video, made by VICE, was released two weeks ago, following Open Arms in their rescue missions in Mediterranean sea. Follow this link to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5kIbQRjJHk
EU Policies
Instead of confronting the reality of migration, European Union member states have sought to increase the barriers to irregular migration. They have sought to achieve this through cooperation with neighbouring countries to prevent people from traveling to Europe. The Union has encouraged countries, like Turkey and Libya, to not only stop people from leaving but also intercept boats that have already departed and bring passengers back. While these policies might be temporarily successful in decreasing migration along certain routes, they increase migration along other, unsafe, illegal passages. They also expose people-on-the-move to increased exploitation and violence from both smugglers and corrupt officials as are forced into this situation as the only option. It forces people to remain in unsafe countries where they face the threat of having their basic human rights violated.
Migration routes are constantly changing in response to changing EU policies. Back in 2012, Greece completed the construction of a four-metre tall, barbed-wire fence that stretches 10.5km along the Greek-Turkish border. Consequently, irregular arrivals via the land border decreased by 95% but were immediately accompanied by a sharp increase in the number of irregular passages across the Aegean Sea. Also, very recently in late 2020, construction started along the section of the Evros border strengthening and extending the existing fence in Kastanies. There has also been the creation of a surveillance system with thermal cameras and a construction of a new fence in Feres.
Most recently in 2020, there has been announcement of the New Pact of Migration and Asylum. The Pact risks exacerbating the focus on externalisation, deterrence, containment and return. As a result, it has been heavily criticised by organisations, human rights watchdogs and civil society networks.
Other EU strategies have also had a detrimental effect on the safety of people-on-the-move at sea, often done in the name of fighting smuggling and saving lives. Policies such as destroying the boats used to transport people-on-the-move have caused smugglers to shift to using cheaper and less safe inflatable boats to minimise their costs. Similarly, the criminalisation of NGO rescue missions at sea and the increasingly frequent use of pushbacks by European border authorities have made it significantly more difficult for people-on-the-move to arrive safely and access their fundamental right to claim asylum.
These examples illustrate the continuous pattern of European authorities cracking down on popular migration routes, only to have new ones, which are often longer and more dangerous, emerge elsewhere.
Deaths & missing in the Mediterranean
People-on-the-move have been forced to take longer and more dangerous sea routes, with many losing their lives in the attempt to find sanctuary in Europe. The Mediterranean Sea has been labelled the ‘Maritime Cemetery’ due to the overwhelming number of reports and images of mass shipwrecks and deaths. The death of Alan Kurdi in 2015, at the peak of the crisis, is a stark reminder of the reality for many crossing the Mediterranean. Alan Kurdi was a Syrian child whose body was washed up on a beach in Turkey after him and his family attempted the journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Greece. Between 2015 and 2016, an estimated 1.4 million people made the crossing into Europe, with an estimated 9,000 people dying on their journey. Most deaths occurred in the Mediterranean.
Between 2014 and 2020, IOM estimated that approximately 21,000 people have died making the crossing in the Mediterranean. Also, IOM reported that in just the first part of 2021 an estimated 4,118 people-on-the-move managed to reach Europe, while at least 117 have died (as of 6th Feb). The number of people who died is unacceptably high. Something to keep in mind is that these are all estimated and often many deaths are never reported.
For a death to be reported, a body often has to be found. But, many people that go missing are never found, so the reality is the number of deaths is much higher than what is reported. A famous case of missing people in the Mediterranean is the ‘Ghost Boat’. On 24th June 2014, a boat containing at least 243 people left the Libyan coast, on course for Italy, but disappeared without a trace. This case has to date never been solved and any existence of these people has seemingly disappeared.
Deaths in the Mediterranean have become so common in the recent decade that they have become simply statistics. Because of this, this issue has ceased to garner much attention from the news media or politicians. But, we must not accept these deaths as inevitable and instead fight to change the European policies responsible for pushing people to risk their lives at sea. There is an urgent need to significantly expand safe and legal routes for those wishing to seek asylum or reunite with loved ones, to prevent additional unnecessary deaths from occurring at Europe’s borders.
It’s important to remember that no one makes such a dangerous journey that risks their lives for the sake of doing so. People make these journeys when they believe it is necessary to do so. In the eloquent words of Warsan Shire:
“no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.”
ESRC. 2017. Dynamics of migration across the Mediterranean. Available from: https://esrc.ukri.org/news-events-and-publications/evidence-briefings/dynamics-of-migration-across-the-mediterranean/ [Accessed 03/02/2021]
MSF. 2020. In 2020, 10 people die or go missing trying to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea on average each week. Available from: https://www.msf.org/mediterranean-migration-depth [Accessed 03/02/2021]
UNHCR, Situation in the Mediterranean. Available from: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean [Accessed: 05/02/2021]
VICE. 2021. Inside The World’s Deadliest Migrant Route. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5kIbQRjJHk [Accessed 30/01/2021]
IWM. 2020. Crossing the Mediterranean by Boat. Available from: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/refugees-crossing-the-mediterranean-sea-by-boat [Accessed 03/02/2021]
