In this project we have learnt quite a lot about Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Firstly, I learnt the differences between the three concepts. How a migrant leaves his country searching for a better life, a refugee (or escape) is forced to leave his home country for problems (such as war…) that he does not control and how an asylum seeker usually escapes for political reasons and will leave his home country because his life is in danger.
Also, we´ve had the possibility, up close, to meet someone who dedicates a lot of his time into helping those in need, specifically the ones stranded out on the Mediterranean, Martin Kolek. His talk gave us a closer look at what life for the refugees was really like and we were able to see photos and videos that he himself had taken, making the experience a lot nearer to us.
As well as this we have learnt about the escape routes that are most frequently used, how they escape, the main reasons why they escape and the problems that this process may have. The main routes into Europe are marked between central Africa (such as Mali, Gambia…) and Syria, travelling into central (Germany, Belgium…) or northern (Norway, Sweden…) Europe. They escape usually by boat, on foot or, on occasions, by plane. Problems involved could be a lack of provisions (like food and water), the hostility of the receiving countries or, as Mr. Kolek explained to us, the precarious conditions that they may be travelling in.
