Crossing the Mediterranean Sea by Boat: Mapping and Documenting Migratory Journeys and Experiences

Current policy interventions urgently need assessing in light of unprecedented levels of migration and a catastrophic increase in refugee and migrant deaths across the Mediterranean Sea. While refugee and migrant deaths en route to the European Union are by no means new, the level and intensity of recent tragedies is unprecedented. More than 1850 deaths were recorded January-May 2015, demanding swift action on the part of EU Member States. This project produces a timely and robust evidence base as grounds for informing policy interventions developed under emergency conditions. It does so by assessing the impact of such interventions on those that they affect most directly: refugees and migrants themselves.

As migratory pressures increase across North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, EU leaders have committed to a strengthened presence at sea, while fighting trafficking and smuggling networks, and extending cross-regional cooperation in order to prevent 'illegal migration flows'. Although there remain significant continuities in EU policy, developments in the region have shifted quickly under emergency conditions. Triton, a joint border management operation coordinated by the European external border agency Frontex, replaced the Italian search and rescue operation Mare Nostrum in autumn 2014. Triton's rescue capacities increased in early 2015, alongside a renewed focus on cross-regional migration and development cooperation, such as through the Khartoum and Rabat processes. New EU efforts to disrupt smuggling and trafficking networks in the region have also been initiated through the EUNAVFOR Med naval operation.

These developments urgently need assessing in terms of their impact on refugee and migrant movements across the region. The EU has emphasised the importance of reinforcing internal solidarity between Member States and fostering shared responsibility through cross-regional cooperation. Nevertheless, such concerns reflect a policy agenda that has thus far had limited success in providing effective protection or settlement outcomes for refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean by boat. A renewed assessment of policy interventions is therefore pressing. This project undertakes such an assessment by engaging the journeys and experiences of refugees and migrants, asking: What are the impacts of policy interventions on migratory journeys and experiences across the Mediterranean? How do refugees and migrants negotiate complex and entwined migratory and regulatory dynamics? In what ways can policy be re-shaped to address migrant deaths at sea?

Developments in search and rescue, anti-smuggling, and preventive mechanisms cannot be assessed in isolation from those who are most directly affected by such developments. An approach grounded in the journeys and experiences of refugees and migrants is thus urgent in order to effectively assess the impact of policy interventions across the Mediterranean. The project produces a robust evidence base that explores the effects of policy interventions on refugees and migrants across the region, focusing on three EU island arrival points in Greece, Italy and Malta. Qualitative interview data, both textual and visual, is produced through an interdisciplinary participatory research approach, and made available through the UK Data Service. This data is subject to a timely initial and on-going analysis, and is disseminated through research briefs and reports, project workshops and a conference, a project website, academic journal articles, as well as via various media outlets.

The project contributes: an interdisciplinary perspective on the legal and social implications of policy interventions in the region; a comparative perspective on migratory routes and methods of travel across the Mediterranean; a qualitative analysis of the journeys and experiences of refugees and migrants; and methodological insights into participatory research under emergency conditions.

Beneficiaries of this research include:
- EU, NATIONAL AND LOCAL POLICY MAKERS: EU Permanent Representations and JHA Counsellors; the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs; the EU Commissioner for Migration; European Asylum Support Office; MEPs; UK Home Office; UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration; Greek, Italian, Maltese and Member State Home Affairs and Interior Ministries; Office of the President of Malta; Mayoral offices of Kos and Sicily
- INTERNATIONAL, INTERGOVERNMENTAL, AND GOVERMENTAL AGENCIES: UNHCR; IOM; FRA; Frontex; asylum reception, coastguard, military, and policing authorities; International Maritime Organisation
- NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS: Amnesty International; European Council on Refugees and Exiles; Human Rights Watch; International Rescue Committee; Jesuit Refugee Service; Médecins Sans Frontières; Medical Foundation; Migrant Offshore Aid System; Red Cross; Save the Children
- CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS: Refugee and migrant led groups and solidarity networks such as Borderline Sicilia and Kos Solidarity, plus local UK groups
- RESEARCHERS AND INFORMATION NETWORKS: International Centre for Migration Policy Development; Migration Policy Centre; Integrated Regional Information Networks; media and cultural outlets

The multi-dimensional nature of this project ensures that it will benefit a wide range of non-academic users. Policy-makers will acquire comparative knowledge of the legal and social implications of search and rescue, anti-smuggling, and preventive border security and development mechanisms. Research briefs and reports will be circulated to policy-making communities, along with additional publications and presentations targeted to maximise participation in two local workshops and a final conference in Brussels. International, inter-governmental, and governmental agencies will also benefit from the project by gaining a deeper understanding of the social consequences and the humanitarian and human rights implications of search and rescue, policing, and reception practices under emergency conditions. Representatives from these groups will be consulted throughout the project, and will receive publications and invitations to project events. NGOs will have an independent and comparative evidence source documenting the journeys and experiences of refugees and migrants, and will be targeted for impact through consultation, project events, and publications. Civil society groups will benefit from having opportunities to share views, challenge skewed or misinformation, and highlight concerns related to the situation of refugees and migrants. The project will maximise the impact of the research on this group through workshop participation, forum engagement, consultation processes, as well as publications and wider dissemination mechanisms. Researchers and information networks will also benefit from the contributions of the project to debates about policy effects, migration and border dynamics, and participatory methodologies. The outputs of this project will be widely circulated through email lists and social media, as well as through project events. University of Warwick Press Office will organise press releases and the dataset will be accessible via the UK Data Service.

Involving beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries throughout all stages of the research process is integral to the impact of this project, which will:
- Invite diverse beneficiaries to review the research (research design, data collection, review, and analysis)
- Consult an Advisory Board of practitioners, researchers, and activists (research design, data collection, analysis, review, and dissemination)
- Ensure timely publication of initial findings via briefs and reports, with accessible feedback mechanisms via workshops and website forums (review and dissemination)
The project team will mobilise its extensive networks across the EU and Mediterranean to maximise impact throughout the research process