Migrant stories: the people behind the debate

Mediterranean refugee crisis reconsidered

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Text By Robin Nierynck

A collection of stories shining a light on the personal experiences of migrants, the very people who threaten to be overlooked in the debate on immigration.

A collection of stories shining a light on the personal experiences of migrants, the very people who threaten to be overlooked in the debate on immigration.

Mediterranean migration has long been a controversial issue but the debate developed an unprecedented urgency following the deaths of more than 750 people on a boat crossing from Libya on April 19.

Politicians and governments are struggling to come up with viable solutions to a problem that has been neglected and generalised for too long. Yet, despite the increased attention, a fundamental aspect of migration has been widely overlooked.

When we talk about ‘migrants’, ‘immigrants’, ‘refugees’ and so on, what we are discussing first and foremost is human beings, each with stories of their own, all too often tragic ones. The people risking their lives in these harrowing journeys, and the complex issues forcing them to do so, tend to be lost in top-down debates that are more concerned with abstract concepts like borders and economies.

These are just a few of the personal stories that go beyond the debate to remind us that people’s lives, not statistics, are at stake.

Hakim Bello

A boat with immigrants on board arrives at Lampedusa, southern Italy. ‘I said my last prayer – I felt like I was dead already.’ Photograph: Ettore Ferrari/EPA

A boat with immigrants on board arrives at Lampedusa, southern Italy. ‘I said my last prayer – I felt like I was dead already.’ Photograph: Ettore Ferrari/EPA

Hakim was a Lampedusa refugee. Originally from Nigeria, he fled Libya’s violence on a boat with 250 other people, which sank close to the coast of Italy. Like most refugees, Hakim didn’t feel he had a choice in leaving; the arduous crossing was his only hope. Yet even after the crossing his troubles continued, unable to work in Germany without the right documents he ended on the streets and in refugee camps. This is his story.

Refugee – Mare Nostrum 

A short film on the realities of Mediterranean migration following the EU’s decision to abolish rescue operation Mare Nostrum. The film presents the personal side of the immigration story. As a refugee in the film explains,  “People are not coming to see the beauty of Europe. Or to see the culture of Europe. We know it well and God bless it. We are running away from death.”
WARNING: contains graphic scenes.

Tatiana Kanga

Tatiana Kanga, 25, takes her children Chantel, 3, and Antoni, 7 months, on a walk through the city of Malaga, in southern Spain. Lauren Frayer/NPR

Tatiana Kanga, 25, takes her children Chantel, 3, and Antoni, 7 months, on a walk through the city of Malaga, in southern Spain. Lauren Frayer/NPR

Tatiana traveled from Cameroon to Spain, via Morocco, on a rubber dinghy. After a 14-hour boat journey she arrived on a Spanish beach, nine months pregnant and with her three-year-old daughter, as the boat was beginning to deflate. She won’t talk about why she fled, but says she was determined to live without fear. This is her story.

Sans Papiers

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A unique and in-depth account of the political debates and policies surrounding undocumented immigrants and the personal experiences of young adults living in the UK without documents. Sans Papiers contains 75 interviews with young migrants from China, Brazil, Ukraine, Zimbabwe and Kurds aged 18 to 31 who are living irregularly in the UK.

Learning By Ear

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A 15-part audio series, The Promised Land: The Story of African Migration to Europe explores the lives and experiences of African migrants, their reasons for leaving and the difficulties they face every step of the way. A personal and considered take on an issue that has often been rendered faceless.
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