The small city of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy has seen the arrival of thousands of refugees who make the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of finding better living conditions. Who are they? Who is receiving them? Behind the overwhelming numbers are a multitude of human stories. Here are a few.
In 2015, more than one million refugees crossed the Mediterranean Sea and reached European soil. Of those, about 157,000 refugees took the Central Mediterranean route, which connects Libya to Italy and Malta. In the same year, 2,892 refugees died on this route alone. Click on the highlighted countries to learn more about why people are leaving and to see the most common routes they take to reach Italy.