The number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe has grown considerably this year. The sea route from North African countries to Italy is said to be the world’s most dangerous migrant route.
SALERNO, ITALY Editor of Jenna Vehviläinen and the photographer Giorgio Casa are leaving today, Wednesday, on the aid organization’s ship to watch how migrants trying to reach Europe are rescued in the Mediterranean.
Vehviläinen and Casa leave the Geo Barents rescue ship of the Doctors Without Borders organization from the port of Salerno in Italy.
The ship is traveling from Italy towards the search and rescue areas of the central Mediterranean, i.e. Italy, Malta and Libya. There, the ship’s crew rescues migrants from boats based on alarms.
After that, the ship asks the authorities for permission to bring the rescued migrants to Italy.
Record number of migrants since 2016
This year, more migrants have come across the Mediterranean to southern European countries than in 2016 – a total of 193,000 people.
The greatest pressure is on Italy, which has received more than two-thirds, or 137,000 people, tell UN refugee agency statistics. The number of migrants who came to Italy has almost doubled since last year.
In particular, the small island of Lampedusa in the middle of the Mediterranean, which belongs to Italy, has been in trouble in recent months. Thousands of migrants came there every day for the second time in the summer. The island is about 150 kilometers from the coast of Tunisia.
More on the topic: The world’s deadliest sea voyage
A large number of those arriving in Italy leave from the coastal cities of Tunisia and Libya.
Disastrous accidents happen at sea. This year, it is estimated that around 2,500 people who tried to reach Europe drowned in the Mediterranean.
In addition to aid organizations, migrants are rescued at sea by coast guards and the European border authority Frontex.
Italy’s far-right government has tried to make sea rescue more difficult with new rules regarding it. Human rights organizations have accused the administration of policies that are against international maritime rescue agreements and that its regulations make the conditions of migrants increasingly dangerous.
A large number of migrants who came to Italy this year from across the sea are Guineans, Ivorians and Tunisians. There are also, for example, Syrians and Cameroonians.
Immigrants are driven by societal unrest, poverty and unemployment, the effects of climate change and conflicts. They pay smugglers up to thousands of euros for trips to Europe.
What would you like to know about rescue operations in the Mediterranean? You can submit your wish by Thursday at 11 p.m.