#mediterranean-migration

#mediterranean-migration

It was my fifth day on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea with the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, reporting on their attempts to rescue migrants stranded at sea. We'd set off a year ago from the Italian port of Civitavecchia, and in the 10 days I was aboard their ship, the Geo Barents, they saved 258 lives. These migrants some whole families, one teenager traveling alone, many young men,

Caught between two worlds, migrants in Tunisia fight the elements and the authorities as they strive to reach Europe. Thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa wait near the coast in Tunisia for an opportunity to make the treacherous voyage across the Mediterranean. Under an agreement signed with the European Union, the Tunisian government does what it can to stop them.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that at least 30,000 people have died while trying to reach Italy from North Africa since the group began keeping track in 2014. Migrants often undergo inhumane treatment at the hands of people smugglers in Libya, who demand exorbitant sums and promise an easy crossing to Europe. These migrants typically come from other parts of Africa, where they faced difficult conditions such as conflict or violence.