Every year thousands of migrants and
refugees try to reach Europe. Some are driven by the need to escape grinding
poverty; others are seeking refuge from violence and persecution. Their journey
is fraught with danger. At least 23,000 people are estimated to have lost their
lives trying to reach Europe since 2000. And those who make it to the borders
of the European Union (EU) find that safety remains beyond their grasp.
The EU
and its member states have constructed an increasingly impenetrable fortress to
keep irregular migrants out – irrespective of their motives, regardless of the
desperate measures that many are prepared to take to reach its shores. In order
to “defend” its borders, the EU has funded sophisticated surveillance systems,
given financial support to member states at its external borders, such as Bulgaria
and Greece, to fortify their borders and created an agency to coordinate a
Europe - wide team of border guards to patrol EU frontier.
