For the past five years, Europe has experienced a sudden influx of struggling migrants and political refugees. These people embark on illegal and extremely dangerous journeys from their respective countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. There are several migratory routes that are particularly dangerous such as, the central Mediterranean route that leads to the Island of Lampedusa and Sicily. In the majority of cases, the asylum seeking refugees are in search of a more stable life and wish to escape the economic and political turmoil that exists in their home countries.

 

In 2015 over a million refugees and migrants came to Europe. The number of deaths associated with this mass migration is staggering. It is estimated that close to 1,700 people have already died this year alone. The transport vessels used by the migrants are of extremely low quality and in many cases used to transport far more people than they are designed for. The Italian Navy and other European countries have put a great deal of effort in search and rescue operations to bring these people to land safely. The scale of this problem combined with political debate over how the EU should handle it, make this a complicated situation. Right now Italy in particular is overwhelmed and in need of support. Sicily, being the closest European landmass to North Africa, has been one of the more severely impacted locations in Italy. If you would like to learn more, there are some great links listed below. This page will also be updated frequently as new statistics and information become available.