Animation: Transcript
Alternatives routes from the Middle East to Europe
Frontex has identified eight main migratory routes to the
continent, both via land and sea.1 However, the
progressive closure of European borders and lack of
legal alternatives has increasingly forced refugees and
other migrants to use more dangerous alternative
routes.
Turkey is a key transit country for migrants coming from
the Middle East and trying to reach Europe. Millions of
migrants have sought refuge across the country or
remain stranded there, waiting for assistance. According
to the Turkish government there are approximately 3.1
million foreign nationals in Turkey seeking international
protection.2 Most of this group originated in the Middle
East, with figures showing more than 2.7 million Syrians
and 128,000 Iraqis in Turkey.3 At the same, from
October to December 2016 more than 9,800 people
were apprehended at the Turkish borders trying to
leave for Europe via land.4
For those who continue moving towards Europe,
alternative routes are shifting and dangerous. People on
the move risk detention, violence, freezing
temperatures, intimidating borders, and abuse at the
hands of smugglers.
How is this happening?
In 2014 more than 430 migrants arrived in Europe via
the Black Sea route. Using overcrowded and unsafe
boats managed by smugglers in Turkey, people on the
move crossed the Black Sea attempting to enter Europe
via Romania and Ukraine. Frontex says the use of this
particular route was possibly linked to the increased
surveillance on the Eastern Mediterranean route and
the growing number of migrants stranded in Turkey.5
Since 2015 the most popular routes to Europe have
become increasingly inaccessible as borders close and
walls are built. By early 2016 the Western Balkans route
was completely shut.
During late 2015 and early 2016 the Arctic Route came
to the fore as a longer, colder, and more dangerous
alternative to enter Europe. Heading north from the
Middle East, more than 5,000 refugees and other
migrants have crossed western Russia to enter Europe
via Finland and Norway.6
People on the move who cannot afford public
transportation were spotted crossing the whole of
western Russia on foot, by hitchhiking, and frequently
finishing their route on a bicycle. In winter, this route is
particularly hard, with temperatures as low as -31
degrees Celsius, heavy snow, freezing winds, humidity
levels over 90%, and darkness 24 hours a day. Even in
summer, the 2,070 km journey from Moscow to
Kirkenes is a huge undertaking.
Two years later, even this route is no longer viable. In
2017 a brand new fence is being constructed along the
Storskog border point between Norway and Russia.7
As of January 2017 some migrants and refugees have
been taking a covert route into Europe through
Lithuania's eastern borders. Its location - between
Russia, Belarus, Poland and Latvia - makes it a
geographically convenient gateway to Western Europe.
Refugees and other migrants trying to cross Lithuania’s
borders, however, will also face an increasingly
common scenario: heavily armed border guards,
piercing alarms, high fences, and detention centres.8
These are just a few examples. Over the course of 2015
and 2016, discrepancies between the number of arrivals
by sea and the number of asylum applicants in EU
countries, suggest that up to 60% of refugees and other
migrants, who are seeking asylum, continue to enter
through other, covert, means. These include the use of
such alternative routes, across both land and sea,
where migrants are exposed to significant risk and often
receive little assistance.9
Despite a growing awareness of these challenges,
people in the Middle East are forced to flee their homes
every day due to conflict and insecurity. Many still head
towards Europe in hope of a better life.
1
Frontex (2017) Detections of illegal border crossings statistics.
IOM (2016) Migrant Presence Monitoring Situation Report, October 2016.
IOM (2016) Migrant Presence Monitoring Situation Report, November 2016.
4 IOM (2016) Migrant Presence Monitoring Situation Report, December 2016.
5 Frontex (2015) Annual Risk Analysis 2015.
6 Laruelle, M. and S. Hohmann “From the Mediterranean to the Far North: A
Refugees Corridor at the Russian-Norwegian Border”. The Arctic Institute, August
2016.
2
3
1 MIXED MIGRATION PLATFORM
7
Doyle, A. “To deter refugees, Norway readies fence on ex-Cold War border“.
Reuters, August 2016.
8 Gerdziunas, B. “An unknown migrant route into EU runs through Lithuania”. Al
Jazeera, January2016.
9 ODI (2016) Europe’s refugees and migrants: Hidden flows, tightened borders and
spiralling costs.