Europe's migrant crisis: Different routes to a new life

A Syrian migrant looking at a map of Europe as he plans the next part of his trip to Central Europe in the Kara Tepe migrant camp on Lesbos on Aug 13, 2015. PHOTO: AFP

Updated

Published

Aug 05, 2015, 11:00 AM

The European Union has recently approved 2.4 billion euros (S$3.75 billion) to help member states cope with the surge in numbers of migrants trying to reach Britain, Germany and Scandinavian countries.

More than 220,000 migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Africa and Middle East have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean sea route since the start of the year. Others are using the land route via the Serbia-Hungarian border to enter the European Union.

A migrant being rescued at sea by Italian Navy, in the Strait of Sicily, Italy, on Aug 12, 2015. PHOTO: EPA

An officer onboard a Greek Coast Guard boat (left) talking to Syrian refugees after its motor broke down off the Greek island of Kos, on Aug 11, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

Migrants waiting during a registration procedure at the stadium on the Greek island of Kos, on Aug 11, 2015. Around 7,000 migrants are waiting to apply for immigration papers on the resort island of 33,000 people.PHOTO: AFP

Syrian refugees carry their children as they jump off an overcrowded dinghy upon arriving on a beach on the Greek island of Kos, after crossing a part of the Aegean sea from Turkey, on Aug 9, 2015. Over 2,100 people have died during the crossing since the beginning of 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

A migrant from Aleppo, Syria holds his 30-day-old baby on an overcrowded train as they travel through Macedonia on Aug 2, 2015. Macedonia and neighbouring countries lie on main migrant land route. PHOTO: REUTERS

Workers employed in the government's public works programme build a fence on Hungary's southern border with Serbia at Morahalom, on Aug 5, 2015. It is trying to finish building its anti-migrant fence on its border with Serbia by August 31, ahead of a previous November deadline.

A newly arrived refugee holds a number that has been allocated to him by the authority in order to get accommodation in front of the Berlin State Office for Health and Social Affairs. Germany received an estimated 175,000 asylum applications last year, compared to 25,000 in Britain. PHOTO: REUTERS

Migrants wait to disembark a Coast Guard ship in the Sicilian harbour of Messina, Italy, on Aug 4, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

Migrants run after crossing a fence as they attempt to access the Channel Tunnel in Frethun, near Calais, France. The northern French port of Calais has become a new flashpoint as migrants attempt to enter Britain illegally through the Eurotunnel. PHOTO: REUTERS

A migrant is hoisted on top of an industrial cooler as more than a dozen migrants gather near trucks on the road that leads to the Channel tunnel in Calais, France. The logjam caused by migrants trying to cross the Channel is costing the British economy as much as US$390 million a day. PHOTO: REUTERS

An aerial photograph taken on June 4, 2015 shows "The Jungle", a sprawling makeshift tent village set up by illegal migrants in Calais, northern France. The United Nations has called on France to draw up a civil emergency plan to accommodate the thousands of people living in the makeshift camps. PHOTO: AFP

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.