Recently, thousands of migrants have been unsuccessful during an intense journey across the Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to escape the now-violence filled country of Libya. So why are thousands of people trying to leave Libya? What is their motivation to leave the place they once called home? Over the past few weeks, Libya has become the latest hotspot in the European migration crisis. In fact, migration from Libya to Europe has drastically increased since 2013. After groups of rebel fighters assassinated Libyan dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, two rival groups have been brawling to seize the country’s power. Now, the people of Libya seem to be losing hope in the direction their home country is going, and what they are going to do about it. The popular notion seems to be to flee to Europe in order to find a better life.

The most recent instance of shortfall, however, occurred during the week of November 3, 2016. Huge groups of people struggled to fit into makeshift boats and travel across the Mediterranean in hope of reaching Italy and finding sanctuary. It is well known that the journey has not been safe lately. In fact, the journeys across the sea have been the worst since last April. Despite the dangerous, even fatal journey, thousands continue to embark in hopes of refuge. In the first week of November, two groups of one hundred split into two boats, and attempted the hard journey. Mid-journey, the two ships experienced a devastating shipwreck, leaving two hundred desperate Libyans to drown in the cold water. According to BBC, these two hundred are part of the already four thousand dead or missing, and perhaps just the start of hundreds more. Katrina Winfield ’20 commented, “I find it so crazy that people are so desperate to get out of their living situation. We are so lucky that we do not have to deal with that. It’s so sad to hear that that many people have died in an attempt to get a better life. It’s unfortunate that people lose their families and children and it’s upsetting that they have such a lack of resources for their boats, and are forced to squish hundreds of people into one.” Winfield contrasted the fortunate lives of many Americans with those of many Libyans struggling for their basic needs. During an interview with an online news source Think Progress, an individual commented that it seemed unimaginable for an American to do something like this, and it upsets them as well that people are losing their families and being left with no hope.

The death of migrants travelling by sea are predicted to be the worst in 2016. According to BBC News, a dinghy – which is defined as a small, inflatable, rubber boat – was carrying 140 people, including six children and twenty women, a handful of them pregnant. These women were travelling in attempt to give birth to their children in a European country for their child to acquire citizenship. The boat capsized, twenty-five miles off of the coast of Libya. Out of all those people, only twelve bodies were recovered. According to a BBC report, a member of the UN said that smugglers who organise these dangerous journeys pack flimsy boats well above their capacity, and send the boats off in bad weather. One might ask, are any migrants successful in their journey? Well, Italy reluctantly accepted an increase of migrants ever since an EU-Turkey agreement to halt migrants travelling to the Greek Islands came into use in March.

While discussing the issue earlier in the week, Ruth Hazzard ’19 stated her remorseful reaction to the recent crisis: “I can’t believe an event like this happened, it’s such an awful thing. The fact that there are people in the United States that have five boats to their name, and these people could not gather up the resources to make a sustainable way to travel and achieve a better life. It’s sad that they had to flee their country.” To many, it seems impossible to leave the place you call home, especially at such high risk.

With some reasoning, one could be confused on the decisions the immigrants have been making. The people of Libya face great personal risk when in their country. Libya has an expansive 1,100 mile coastline, one of the largest in North Africa. The coastline has been left without border control because the country has lacked a centralized government since 2014. When Libyan Coast Guard members catch migrants and refugees attempting to flee by boat, these individuals are forced into overcrowded detention centers with terrible conditions. Migrants in these detention centers are subject to horrible atrocities and even torture, leaving them in even worse situations. Nick Gauthier ’17 commented on Europe’s standing in this. “This goes to show that the West has to be more willing to accept refugees. These are just innocent people that are trying to find a suitable place to live in peace.” In this quote, Nick discusses his belief that more countries should recognize the struggle the Libyan migrants are going through and be more accepting of refugees.

The migrant crisis off the coast of Libya is va very difficult, relevant issue with many underlying controversies. It seems that Libyan refugees and migrants are already in tough situations, and that they have no escape but to risk their lives in a tragic journey towards a better home.