Every year, hundreds of thousands of Africans risk their lives trying to get into Europe. This is their story.
We follow a convoy of young migrants. First came the hopes and idealism of the journey’s start. They were going to be the lucky ones who overcome all the odds to build a new life in Europe. Next came the growing comprehension of just what they had undertaken. The loss of their money in bribes to corrupt officials. The dried-out bodies of other migrants in the desert – a constant reminder of what would happen to them if they ran out of water.
Then came the hell of Libya’s internment camps. The squalid conditions and beatings. And finally, the bitter knowledge that they are simply pawns, to be used and abused by every authority they encounter. And the sickening realisation that they have lost the biggest gamble of their lives.
Almost 300 miles separates Libya from Sicily. This 300-mile stretch is known as the refugee graveyard. But for many, a fate worse than drowning at sea is being locked up in one of the country’s numerous detention centres. We gained rare access.
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Year after year, the plight of refugees dominates news headlines. Today Syria is experiencing the largest population exodus since the Second World War, with more than six million people forced to leave their homes. Twenty years ago, the news was dominated by refugees from Bosnia.
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