Across the sea… and beyond

Abstract

In 2015 the political, policy and media focus was very much on the dangerous and difficult journey across the sea. Even today this largely remains the case. In this chapter we explore our respondents’ experiences of the sea crossing and also what happened when they arrived on the shores of Europe. Just as the sea crossing was not the beginning of the story, neither was it the end. Although the focus shifted towards the end of 2015 onto the movement of people up through the Balkans to the countries of Northern Europe, there were also other movements taking place which are rarely acknowledged or spoken about in policy debates. These included the movement of refugees and migrants from Greece to countries other than those in Northern Europe, including Italy and Malta, typically seen as arrival rather than destination countries. In addition, European countries also created their own movement, largely through enforced returns under the Dublin Regulation which continued despite media stories to the contrary.