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treacherous crossings


M


ost refugees undertake a perilous journey to escape persecution, violence or death. But escape by sea is particularly dangerous as people confront


unpredictable weather, unsafe and over-crowded vessels, unscrupulous human traffickers and smugglers. And even if they survive the journey, chances are they won’t receive a welcome reception in their country of refuge.


Alarmingly, as conflicts continue in Syria, Iraq, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and elsewhere, and with few opportunities to enter Europe by regular means, more and more people threatened by persecution and serious human rights violations at home are attempting to escape by sea to countries such as Italy and Greece.


UNHCR estimates that approximately 3,400 people have died or have gone missing at sea in 2014, approximately 2,800 since the beginning of July.


Te ever increasing death toll in the Mediterranean Sea and the rising number of refugees and migrants risking their lives in rickety boats are a wake-up call for joint European action, based on solidarity, burden-sharing and protection of those fleeing persecution and violence.


Where are people coming from?


People who crossed the Mediterranean in 2014 came from more than 40 countries around the world on three different continents. In the last two years, almost half of the arrivals in the Mediterranean were people coming from Syria and Eritrea, as well as Somalia and Iraq.


From January to October 2014, more than 60,000 Syrians, including almost 10,000 children, arrived by sea. In the same period almost 35,000 Eritreans arrived by sea in the Mediterranean, including 3,380 unaccompanied children. Remaining nationalities included people from a number of African countries, Afghanistan, and an increasing number of Palestinians fleeing Syria and most recently from Gaza.


PEOPLE WHO CROSSED THE


MEDITERRANEAN IN 2014 CAME FROM MORE THAN 40


COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD ON THREE DIFFERENT CONTINENTS.


© UNHCR/ A. D’Amato 2014 18 / UNHCR


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