Refugees and migrants who make the route through North Africa and try to cross the Mediterranean, in order to save their lives and those of their own, experience real horrors, such as violence, abuse, kidnappings, extortion, torture and death.
The numbers of registered arrivals have been decreasing, due to agreements and investments to "divert" vessels from Europe, externalizing its border and militarizing the sea.
However, the number of deaths remains high, with more than 3,200 deaths or disappearances recorded in the Mediterranean. Many others died, were abused or tortured on the dangerous crossing controlled by traffickers and criminals. Many are intercepted and, as it were, "returned" to Libya, where they have to remain in detention for an indefinite period, in inhumane conditions and suffering serious violations of human rights and risk of life.
The international responsibility to save people at sea is made impossible by new laws that persecute anyone trying to save lives, while there are still no safe, legal routes for those most in need to survive safely in Europe.
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