A new report from the United Nations refugee agency shows that a record 137,000 migrants have made the journey across the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, an 83 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The U.N. High Commission on Refugees released a report Wednesday saying Europe is living through “a maritime refugee crisis of historic proportions,” as those migrants make the risky journey to seek better living and economic conditions in Europe.
The increase in numbers of migrants has placed a strain on Europe’s resources, particularly those of Italy and Greece, a first stop for many migrants crossing the sea. Because of the increase, the report says more people are dying en route, many traveling in overcrowded, rickety boats across the sea from Turkey or North Africa. The U.N. says 1,867 migrants have been killed in this year’s journeys.
Migrant traffic is expected to stay high over the next few months, as refugees and people smugglers take advantage of warm weather in the Mediterranean.
U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said most of the migrants traveling now are not economic refugees, but instead are fleeing violence and persecution. The report says a third of this year’s migrants reaching Greece or Italy are refugees from the war in Syria. It says 12 percent are fleeing violence in Afghanistan and another 12 percent are fleeing persecution in Eritrea.
European leaders have struggled to craft a response to the increase in migrants after the unprecedented death toll so far this year. Guterres called on them to keep searching for the best policy and most effective operational response to help bring refugees to safety.
