Mediterranean Migrant Crisis Causes More Deaths
The United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR has warned that migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Africa are putting put themselves in even more danger than in the past.
According to a UNHCR report, the number of refugees who have arrived in Europe has fallen while more of them have died on their trip across the Mediterranean. Over 1,000 people have died on the journey so far in 2018. The death rate is the highest since the migration crisis of 2015. One out of every 18 people attempting the passage have drowned.
The Mediterranean route leads from the Libyan coast to Italy. Authorities in the northern African country are catching more and more traffickers who take money to smuggle refugees to Europe. These smugglers try to get them to Europe as fast as possible in order to cut the costs of keeping them in warehouses and other hiding places for a longer period of time. However,they are also taking more risks due to increased Libyan surveillance.
While the EU has cooperatedwith Libya to intercept migrant boats, more and more organisations are wiling to take the risk and bring people to Europe illegally.
Migrants from all over Africa are arriving in Libya at an alarming rate.The EU has suggested opening up special migration centers in northern Africa in order to examine asylum applications.
EU member countries have not agreed on how to handle migration from Africa . Whereas states like Italy and Greece want to send migrants to other EU countries as quickly as possible, northern EU states suggest setting up migration centers in the south to control the number of asylum seekers.
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Words
- according to = as reported by ...
- alarming rate = very very fast
- asylum application = if you officially say that you want to come to another country because you are in danger in your own
- asylum seeker = person who wants another country to let them live there because they are in danger at home
- attempt = try
- authorities = government organisation that has the power to make decisions
- cooperate = work together
- cut = lower, bring down
- drown =to die from being under water for too long
- due to = because of
- examine = look at something very carefully
- handle = deal with
- however = but
- illegal = against the law
- increased = higher, more
- intercept = to stop someone that is going from one place to another before they get there
- journey = longer trip
- Mediterranean Sea = sea between Europe and Africa
- migrant = someone who goes to another country in order to live or work there
- passage = here: journey
- refugee = someone who has to leave their country because of war, natural disaster or because of political reasons
- smuggle = to take something illegally from one country to another
- surveillance = when police watch a place carefully because it may be connected with criminal activities
- trafficker = here: person who brings people from one country to another illegally
- UNHCR = United Nations High Commission for Refugees = organisation that deals with helping and supporting refugees all over the world
- warehouse = large building where you can store goods and products for a longer time
- whereas = while