13 Week two

Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?

Europe is experiencing one of the most significant influxes of migrants and refugees in its history. Pushed by civil war and terror and pulled by the promise of a better life, huge numbers of people have fled the Middle East and Africa, risking their lives along the way.

More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, compared with just 280,000 the year before. The scale of the crisis continues, with more than 135,000 people arriving in the first two months of 2016.

Among the forces driving people to make the dangerous journey are the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The vast majority - more than 80% - of those who reached Europe by boat in 2015 came from those three countries.

Poverty, human rights abuses and deteriorating security are also prompting people to set out from countries such as Eritrea, Pakistan, Morocco, Iran and Somalia in the hope of a new life in somewhere like Germany, Sweden or the UK.

But as European countries struggle with the mass movement of people, some have tightened border controls. This has left tens of thousands of migrants stranded in Greece, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis.

As leaders grasp for a solution, they have increasingly looked to Turkey, hoping to slow the number of people setting off for European shores.

What routes are people using?

The most direct routes are fraught with danger. In 2015 more than 3,770 people drowned or went missing crossing the Mediterranean to Greece or Italy in flimsy dinghies or unsafe fishing boats.

Most of those heading for Greece take the relatively short voyage from Turkey to the islands of Kos, Chios, Lesbos and Samos. There is very little infrastructure on these small Greek islands to cope with the thousands of people arriving, leaving overburdened authorities struggling to provide vital assistance.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24583286

WHY:Civil war in Syria
WHEN:2015

WHO:European nations

HOW:not given

WHAT:Poverty, human rights abuses and deteriorating security problems

WHERE:European countries

Keywords:

     1.migrant: 移居的

     2.scale: 刻度/尺度

     3.deteriorating: 不斷惡化的

     4.shore: 支柱/撐柱

     5.route: 路程/航線

     6.flimsy: 脆弱的/輕薄的

     7.dinghies: 小船/小艇

     8.infrastructure: 公共建設

     9. voyage: 航海/航行 

    10. assistance: 援助