Info Refugee Migrations in(to) Europe: March 16 – 31

Johan Leman, 1 April 2021

March 17. A 2-year-old child in a serious condition was among 10 people who were hospitalized for hypothermia after they were rescued from a boat off the Canary Islands. 52 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa arrived on the boat on Tuesday evening. (@InfoMigrants)

March 18. “Up to 60 migrants are feared dead after a shipwreck on Thursday, March 18. The organization Alarm Phone has tried to reconstruct what happened and has spoken with survivors. Its report was released on Monday. More than 100 people are thought to have been on board a wooden boat which got into difficulty last Thursday, March 18 in the Mediterranean. The boat was about nine sea miles off the Libyan coast, near the town of Zuwara, reported the German Catholic news agency KNA.” (InfoMigrants)

March 19. Today, OceanViking performed the rescue of 10 people in distress on a fibreglass boat, 36NM off Libya. The operation was conducted under the coordination of an on-scene Libyan coastguard vessel who requested our intervention. Among the survivors are 2 women, 1 baby & 3 children.( @SOSMedIntl)

March 20. Moroccan migrants recently left a reception center on Fuerteventura and are now sleeping outside. Dozens of migrants have left official camps on the Canary Islands recently, complaining about poor living conditions and high COVID risks due to crammed tents and rooms. (@InfoMigrants)

March 21. French maritime authorities rescued 72 people who were trying to cross the English Channel, officials said on Sunday. There were 11 children in the group. (@InfoMigrants)

March 23. A total of 183 migrants on board six small boats crossed the English Channel from France to UK on Tuesday, March 23. That is the highest number in one day so far this year. (@InfoMigrants)

March 25.  In a post-Brexit world, British Minister Priti Patel ‘s plan to send people back to EU countries like France might run into trouble. NGO RefugeeAction said the new proposals would lengthen the processing time and would “erode their mental health” & “further isolate them.” (@InfoMigrants)

March 25. In northern Italy, 53 migrants were evicted from a shelter set up by activists. The occupied building had been turned into a center to assist migrants trying to cross the border to France. (@InfoMigrants)

March 25. For most migrants, Bosnia is but a pit stop on their way to western Europe. Many live in squats in the northwestern town of Bihac, preparing to cross the border to Croatia irregularly. Whenever the squats are cleared by police, the migrants are brought back to the overcrowded Lipa camp – further away from the border. (@InfoMigrants)

March 29. The Libyan coast guard has intercepted nearly 1,000 migrants and brought them back to shore in the past 48 hours, according to the IOM. (infoMigrants)

March 29. Deux migrants/réfugiés se sont noyés près de la côte espagnole.

March 30. The UNHCR says it has observed “several hundred cases” of suspected pushbacks in the Aegean Sea since the beginning of last year. UNHCR stressed that reports were based on its own sources, and that it had passed the evidence on to Greek authorities. (@infoMigrants)