Deadly journeys: Refugees, migrants risk everything to reach Europe | Refugees News

The new year is less than two months in, but already more than 560 people have gone missing in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, making it on track to be one of the deadliest years on record. At least 500 of those have been lost crossing from Libya, Tunisia and Algeria to Europe, which is still trying to force them back.

The stories of those lost at sea, many of them traveling on boats that offer little protection from the waves, reveal the extent of their suffering.

Earlier in February, 53 people, two of their babiesare said to be dead or missing after their boat capsized off the coast of the Libyan town of Zuwara. Only two women, both Nigerian, were rescued.

A few weeks earlier, as a freak cyclone ripped across the Mediterranean, hundreds, possibly up to a thousand people, desperately trying to reach Europe, reportedly lost their lives.

Qualified risk

The risks of traveling to and through Libya They are popular with migrants and refugees. However, they eat.

According to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), between August and October 2025, at least 928,000 migrants have been identified in Libya, hoping to either stay in the North African country or, in the case of many, try to cross over to Europe and the promise of a better life.

But as they wait for the funds to pay for their passage, or the right opportunity to travel, they find themselves prey to the militias that have controlled much of Libya since a civil war robbed the country of a stable and unified government.

A report issued in February by the UN Human Rights Office painted a bleak picture of life for refugees and irregular migrants in Libya. In it, researchers described an environment where traffickers and armed groups can carry out widespread and systematic abuse against migrants. These “serious violations and abuses have evolved into deliberate, profit-driven practices that together constitute a ruthless and violent business model.”

Ola, a 25-year-old from Freetown in Sierra Leone, is one of the thousands who have fallen victim to Libya’s militias. Speaking from Libya’s capital Tripoli, Ola described how he was beaten and held captive by one of the militias in Zuwara, which is in western Libya.

Ola said that his hand had not recovered after being beaten with an iron rod before he was detained in the summer of 2024. Ola remained in detention for three months, enduring forced labor and frequent beatings: the time it took his parents to borrow the $700 his captors demanded to free him.

“Conditions were very bad,” he said of his time in detention, rubbing his injured hand. “There was a lot of suffering. We had bread to eat, and sometimes we had to drink the water they gave us to wash in. It was very bad; it had salt in it.”

“I didn’t have a (reputation for taking risks) in my country,” Ola said.

“I didn’t associate with bad people. I never did anything illegal,” he continued. “I know it’s dangerous, but it’s better than where I come from.”

Mubarak, a 31-year-old from Sudan, is no different. He fled fighting around his village near Nyala in Darfur in 2023, and crossed overland into Libya through Chad. Like Ola, Mubarak described being imprisoned, beaten and forced to work by one of Libya’s militias before being released.

Mubarak also knows the risks of going to Europe and is ready to accept them. He laughed bitterly, “I know the crossing (to Europe) is dangerous. (But) It is only the money that stops me. I know in my soul that Libya is as dangerous as Sudan, but where shall I go?”

No deterrent for the desperate

For those willing to risk their lives to survive what the IOM says is the world’s most dangerous migration route, European deterrence means little.

However, the European states most exposed to departures from Tunisia and Libya, mainly Italy, have increasingly adopted punitive measures. Under a new Italian bill approved earlier this monththe country can ban boats from entering its waters indefinitely “in cases of serious threats to public order or national security.”

Furthermore, the bill allows Italy to stop boats and send passengers to third-party countries with which it has outsourcing deals, such as Albania, with no indication that authorities will check for protection needs, vulnerabilities or physical or mental health concerns. The European Parliament also signed off on changes to EU asylum rules allowing member states to transfer asylum seekers to “safe third countries”.

How effective all this is in reducing migrant numbers remains to be seen. Despite an Italian government elected in part on the back of its anti-migrant platform in 2022, arrival numbers remain stubbornly high, with more than 63,000 people defying the odds in 2025, almost the same number as the previous year.

“Why people take these extreme risks is one of the big questions,” said Ahlam Chemlali, a migration expert at Aalborg University in Denmark, who has conducted extensive field research among irregular migrants along Tunisia’s border with Libya.

Chemlali described how he spoke to the women in the border region, who knew the danger of migration first hand and in many cases experienced it.

“They told me they are already dead there (at the border), and they are right. It is a social death, where people have no future,” she said, “Everything is denied to them, so taking these risks is one way they can regain some control over their lives. They understand what they are doing. The EU has poured millions into information campaigns, but the prospect of women being trapped in the future is especially untrue. Children can be a huge motivator, but of course it also increases the risks.

In Ola’s case, the drive to reach Europe is unwavering. He longs for the rule of law – anything that will lead to consequences for those who commit acts of violence against him.

“Life in Europe would be incredible,” he said, the tone of his voice lightened, “I would be safe. There is no violence there. If there is violence, it is punished by law.

“I will educate myself and then get a job.”