2014-03-30
LAMPEDUSA - The Migrants Files is a project by a European consortium of journalists that aims at precisely assessing the number of men, women and children that died as a result of EU Member States migration policies.
Financed by Journalismfund, the team of journalists started putting together all the data available on migrants casualties since 2000. Publications include Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Zürich), Sydsvenskan (Malmö), L’Espresso (Rome), Le Monde Diplomatique (Paris), RadioBubble (Athens) and El Confidencial (Madrid).
What they found out:
- By aggregating sources together, they showed that the number of sourced dead and missing migrants is 50% higher than current estimates.
- Mortality rates between migration routes vary widely, from 2% in the Canaries to 6% near Malta and Lampedusa. EU Member States constantly close the routes with low mortality, pushing migrants towards the more dangerous ones.
- No EU Member State or EU institution has data on migrants death. For some Member States, dead migrants “aren’t migrating anymore, so why care?”, in the words of a public official.
- When it comes to talking of “lives saved” and security of migrations, politician and border guards engage in shameless lies and whitewashing of their activities and programs, renaming surveillance and push-back activity into search and rescue operations.
The Migrant Files won in 2014 the European Press Prize, Innovation Award, the Global Editors Network Data Journalism Awards and the Gold Medal at 'Premios ÑH'.
(Photos © UNHCR A. Rodrigez)
Supported
€7,280 granted on 28/11/2013ID
2013/145ONLINE
- 'The Migrants Files' (EN) (Detective.io, 31 March 2014)
- 'Die Toten vor Europas Türen' (CH) (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 31 March 2014)
- 'Daten einer Tragödie' (CH) (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 31 March 2014)
- 'Τα θανατηφόρα τείχη της Ευρώπης' (HE) (RadioBubble, 31 March 2014)
- 'De weg naar Europa is een kerkhof' (BE) (MO*, 31 March 2014)
- 'Trece años de inmigración: más de 23.000 muertos por intentar alcanzar Europa' (ES) (El Confidencial, 31 March 2014)
- 'Cómo se hizo 'The Migrants Files'' (ES) (El Confidencial, 31 March 2014)
- 'Migranti, la guerra del Mediterraneo' (IT) (L'Espresso, 31 March 2014)
- 'The Migrants' Files: Surveying Migrants' Deaths at Europe's Door' (EN) (EUobserver, 31 March 2014)
- 'Over 23.000 har mistet livet ved Europas stengte grenser' (NO) (Aftenposten, 31 March 2014)
- '"Ces gens-là sont morts, ce ne sont plus des migrants"' (FR) (Le Monde Diplomatique, 31 March 2014)
- 'Décompte – Migrants morts en voulant rejoindre l’Europe : un chiffrage inédit' (FR) (Le Monde, 31 March 2014)
- 'Massensterben an Europas Grenzen' (DE) (Süddeutsche.de, 31 March 2014)
- 'Fortezza Europa, ora si contano i morti' (IT) (Parolibero, 1 April 2014)
- 'Morts pour l'Europe : les chiffres du datajournalisme' (FR) (Courrier international, 1 April 2014)
- 'Unik grafik: Här dör migranter på väg till Europa' (SE) (Sydsvenskan, 02/04/2014)
- 'Tausend Tragödien an Europas Grenzen' (Süddeutsche Zeitung, April 24th 2015)
- 'The map showing the migrants who have died trying to reach Europe' (Voxeurop, 26 June 2015)
TV
- '23.000 døde: Her er de farligste veje ind i "Fort Europa"' (DK) (Nyhederne, 31 March 2014)
- Cronache, TG La 7 (IT) (1 April 2014)
- Neue Zürcher Zeitung (CH)
- L'espresso (IT)
- Sydsvenskan (SE)
- Le Monde Diplomatique (FR)
- De Groene Amsterdammer (NL): 'De dodelijke grenzen van Europa', 5 May 2014
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