A study by the International Organization for Migration on migrant flows in the Western Mediterranean reveals that nearly half of the over 1,300 migrants who arrived in Spain last year reported experiencing exploitation and abuse during their journeys.
Mediterranea is a mission that aims above all to show solidarity with migrants braving the Mediterranean and against European governments' policies towards them. The Mare Jonio ship, the flagship of the project, and its crew are nevertheless prepared to save human lives as well. InfoMigrants joined them during a training exercise.
Before she reached the French port city of Marseille 18 months ago, 29-year-old Aïcha travelled thousands of kilometers to escape violence and death threats in Ivory Coast. Today, the single mother of four dreams of setting up an association defending women’s rights. InfoMigrants met her in the emergency shelter Saint-Just in Marseille where she works as a volunteer.
Many readers of InfoMigrants wonder about the safety of the migrants who cross the Mediterranean by boat. One of the most frequent questions we receive is why many migrants, and especially women and children, embark on the perilous journey without the added safety of a life jacket. We take a closer look at the reasons for why many migrants seem to avoid them.
European Union countries plus Norway and Switzerland saw a 10 percent drop in international protection requests in 2018 compared with 2017. The EU border agency, Frontex, also says arrivals via the Central Mediterranean route in January were 73 percent down on the previous month.
In 2015, more than a million people fled to Europe, making it a record year for migration. But a lot has changed since then. As 2019 gets underway, fewer and fewer people are attempting to get to Europe by irregular means.
The mayors of some Italian and Spanish cities are challenging the politics of national sovereignty and blocked ports, by signing an alliance in support of NGOs working in migrant rescue in the Mediterranean. Just three months ahead of European elections, the signatories said the pact aims to "save Europe from itself.”
Migrant arrivals to Spain continue to increase, with 103 migrants - including seven women and 55 children - rescued in just 24 hours from four different vessels. The Spanish government aims to cut migrant arrivals in half this year compared to the 64,000 arrivals in 2018.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that 5,757 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea during the first 27 days of 2019. This marks a slight increase compared to the 5,502 registered arrivals during the same period last year.
Italian psychiatrist Gaetano Sgarlata has sounded the alarm over the psychological trauma endured by the 47 asylum seekers on the Sea Watch NGO ship due to their uncertain situation.
More than 18,000 migrants have died or gone missing between October 2013 and December 2018 in the Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to reach Europe, according to a report based on annual figures by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and its Missing Migrants project.
Italian authorities have issued arrest warrants for 14 people accused of trafficking migrants on speedboats from Tunisia. Migrants were charged as much as 3,000 euros per trip.