Influx of boats migrating Africans to Europe over the years have become alarming. There is no shortage of those willing to pay exorbitant fees to board ships going for Europe.
The number of boats transporting migrants from North Africa across the Mediterranean is rapidly increasing, but Europe is failing to cope with this massive influx of people.
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Journalists have spent the last week investigating the impact of refugees from Africa all the way to Germany.
Tunisia, in North Africa, is now the starting point for the vast majority of migrants making the perilous trek across the Mediterranean Sea.
There are hopes and dreams there, as well as desperation. “I just want to be a basketballer,” says Mohammed “BB” Lain Barrie, who has journeyed 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) from his home country of Sierra Leone. “I know I’d be good,” he says. “I’d like to do it for my family.” My ambition is to play basketball in the United States.”
As he speaks, his face brightens. A few miles down the coast, though, is a reminder of the risks he, and tens of thousands of others, are ready to take.
Mohammed aspires to travel to Europe and play basketball.
The dockside of the port of La Lusa is littered with fishing nets. However, all too often, the daily catch here includes the dead bodies of migrants who died when their boats sunk.
Nonetheless, there is no shortage of persons willing to pay exorbitant fees to board those boats.
The majority of them travel to Italy. More than 72,000 people have made the voyage so far this year.
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This is more than double the amount of those who made it last year. The majority of the influx is made up of Sub-Saharan Africans who are yearning to leave the continent.
Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new right-wing prime minister, was elected on the promise of a naval blockade, her version of Rishi Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats” crossing the English Channel.
