Desperate Mr X Ep 1

[Peppin Kishore]

WhileKumar and his team were thinking about how to keep the business afloat, they were spurred into action because of the desperate calls they were getting from their guide partners, some even requesting small loans to make ends meet.

The number of refugees and migrants making the Mediterranean Sea crossing fell in 2018 but it is likely that reductions to search and rescue capacity coupled with an uncoordinated and unpredictable response to disembarkation led to an increased death rate as people continued to flee their countries due to conflict, human rights violations, persecution, and poverty.

Throughout 2018, there were significant changes to the pattern of routes taken by refugees and migrants heading for Europe. For the first half of the year, more people arrived in Greece than Italy or Spain, in the second half, however, the primary entry point became Spain as more and more people attempted the perilous sea crossing over the Western Mediterranean.

Although the overall number of deaths at sea in the Central Mediterranean more than halved in 2018 compared to the previous year, the rate of deaths per number of people attempting the journey rose sharply. On the crossing from Libya to Europe, for instance, the rate went from one death for every 38 arrivals in 2017 to one for every 14 arrivals last year. The toll was particularly heavy in the Western Mediterranean, on the route to Spain, where the number of deaths almost quadrupled in 2018 over the previous year.

Elsewhere in Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded some 24,100 arrivals as refugees and migrants transiting through the Western Balkans searched for new routes to EU Member States; Cyprus received several boats carrying Syrians from Lebanon, along with arrivals from Turkey and more by air, straining accommodation and processing capacity; and towards the end of the year, small numbers of people tried to make the sea crossing from France to the UK.

Indeed, this report calls for the urgent establishment of a coordinated and predictable regional response to rescue at sea, as well as greater responsibility sharing in general. This should include increased rescue capacity, specified and predictable disembarkation points, more solidarity and support for those countries where most refugees and migrants arrive, improved access to safe and legal pathways (such as resettlement, family reunification, education and labour schemes), greater protection for unaccompanied children and sexual and gender-based violence survivors, and tougher measures against the perpetrators of crimes against refugees and migrants, including traffickers and smugglers.

In 2018, human rights violations, persecution, conflict, and violence continued to displace many with some subsequently seeking international protection in Europe.[1] While refugees and migrants arriving in Europe continued in general to be from the same countries of origin or the same regions as in 2016 and 2017, there were significant changes in movement patterns, in part in response to new restrictions. An estimated third of people who arrived in Europe via the Central Mediterranean route in 2018 were likely to be in need of international protection,[2] along with approximately half of people who arrived via the Eastern Mediterranean sea route, and around 10% of those who arrived in Spain via the Western Mediterranean route.[3]

One positive development was the relatively quick commitments by some European states to relocate some of those who were rescued at sea, mostly by NGO vessels, and who were permitted to disembark in Italy, Malta, or Spain on condition of their subsequent transfer to another European country. France, Spain, Germany, and Portugal committed to relocating the largest numbers of people. Nevertheless, the process of selection and transfers was often marred by inconsistencies in the procedures and criteria applied, resulting in significant delays in the transfer arrangements and, in some cases, with refugees and migrants being kept in prolonged detention during this process.[16]

More arrivals in Cyprus: In the eastern Mediterranean, almost 7,800 new asylum applications were lodged in Cyprus in 2018. This increase has stretched the capacity of the asylum system as well as contributed to homelessness among some asylum-seekers, highlighting the need for improvements to reception capacity and asylum processing. While the overall number of sea arrivals to Cyprus dropped compared to 2017, several boats carrying Syrians arrived directly from Lebanon, in addition to those crossing from Turkey. Some of those arriving by sea reported travelling via that route in order to join close family members already in Cyprus.[22]

Increased attempts to cross to England by boat: Towards the end of the year, there were a number of attempts to cross from France to England by sea.[23] For many years, refugees and migrants[24] have been trying to cross this border in different ways, many of them highly dangerous, such as hiding on trucks, trains or ferries. Since 2015, at least 55 people have died attempting this journey (including five in 2018), mostly the result of accidents involving trucks or other vehicles. While the sea crossings represent a new way of trying to cross the border, the number attempting the journey so far has been relatively small, especially compared to other routes in the region.

As of early 2019, most of these trends are expected to continue over the coming months. Until the root causes and triggers of displacement and migration are addressed in many countries in nearby regions, people will continue to seek safety and protection, while others will try to escape poverty with the hope of finding work or educational opportunities. For example, forced displacement from Mali,[25] northern Nigeria,[26] Cameroon,[27] Burkina Faso,[28] and western Niger[29] could contribute to onward movement towards Europe via the Central Mediterranean or Western Mediterranean routes.

Given the high number of arrivals by sea in the latter half of 2018, Spain seems likely to continue to be the primary entry point to Europe. This will require further solidarity and efforts to improve reception conditions, along with ensuring fair and efficient asylum procedures for those seeking international protection. Given the situation in Syria and other parts of the region, similar numbers are likely to continue to try to cross to Greece from Turkey, including at the land border. The freezing temperatures in winter along with the dangerous river crossing lead to several deaths each year at the land border. Further measures are needed to guard against loss of life, including ending push-backs.[30]

In the central Mediterranean, indications from the latter half of 2018 suggest that some of those currently in Libya, many of whom have likely been there for a year or more, along with some more recent arrivals to Libya may continue to try to leave, with some smugglers adapting their methods by providing sturdier boats, more fuel and satellite phones, and sometimes escorting or carrying boats further from Libya so as to move beyond the area patrolled by the Libyan Coast Guard. In the continued absence of a consistent and coordinated approach within the region to rescue at sea and subsequent disembarkation, rescues by NGO vessels and possibly others, in particular in the Libyan SRR are likely to continue to be responded to on an ad hoc, case by case basis. As a result, there will be more situations in which often severely traumatised people are kept at sea for several days while governments debate where they can be disembarked. The high death rate is also likely to continue, given the worrying reduction in search and rescue capacity. Malta, along with Lampedusa, may continue to receive an increase in direct arrivals.

Elsewhere, refugees and migrants are likely to keep trying to travel irregularly through the Balkans, with routes possibly varying depending on restrictions imposed by different states in the region. Further efforts are needed in 2019 to strengthen asylum procedures in the region, along with better and harmonized reception conditions, improved child protection and other services for persons with specific needs, and support for integration, including as a means of helping to reduce onward movement.

Following improved commitments to the provision of safe and legal pathways to protection in 2018, including within the framework of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), UNHCR urges European states to continue to provide increased numbers of resettlement and humanitarian admission places (including for those evacuated from Libya), and to address obstacles preventing refugees from realising their rights to family reunification. UNHCR is also encouraging further steps to granting access to legal pathways, including private sponsorship schemes, scholarship programmes and labour schemes, as an alternative to the dangerous irregular journeys described in this report.

Among those arriving in Europe in 2018 were people fleeing conflict, insecurity and human rights violations in Mali, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Somalia; forced conscription and other human rights abuses in parts of East Africa; and other forms of persecution in various countries.

Those traveling to Europe continued to face considerable dangers on certain parts of the routes, with many refugees and migrants dying along the way. Despite knowing the general risks of travelling to and through Libya, for some the push factors appeared to outweigh these dangers.[31]

Along the sea route to Spain, the number of deaths almost quadrupled as more people tried to cross in unsafe vessels, sometimes in poor weather, including on the longer journey over the Alboran Sea. Although the number of persons per boat tends to be lower than along the route from Libya, there were still 12 incidents in 2018 in which 20 or more people died. Despite the short distance between the Greek islands and Turkey, more than 120 people drowned last year, including incidents where boats capsized at night, including as winter set in. In addition, there were 64 deaths reported in four incidents as refugees and migrants tried to cross from Turkey or Lebanon to Cyprus.

3a8082e126