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There's a ton of basic misunderstandings of refugee law, asylum processes and basic dehumanisation of the people making these journeys in this thread. Let's go through it point by point... https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296029833928081408?s=20
So far, so good. Lots of interviews with people on the move and visits to key spots along routes through Europe. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296030736265420802?s=20
TW - dehumanisation.
Migrants being 'unloaded'? Really? https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296031016285609984?s=20
Migrants being 'unloaded'? Really? https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296031016285609984?s=20
It's true that large numbers of people on the move are young men. Families can often only afford to send one person on a journey like this, so they will choose the person most likely to be able to make it safely. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296031430473129984?s=20
The ideal outcome would be for that person to reach a safe country and get asylum there, then apply for the rest of the family to join later. The rest of the family may not be somewhere entirely safe, but this option beats making everyone making a risky journey.
Badly misleading. Refugee claims aren't decided until someone has arrived in the country they want to make a claim in and has submitted it. And crucially, there is no safe and legal way for someone, even with a prima facie claim, to travel to that country https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296032591603277824?s=20
The fact that someone is making a risky journey doesn't imply that their asylum claim has no merit, as is claimed here. Which brings us to a key question - why don't refugees travel by plane, or by ferry?
The answer is that they can't - there's been an increase in recent decades of the need for visas. If you hold the passport of one of the countries that has produced most refugees in the last few years, you will need a visa to go almost anywhere.
You will even need transit visas in many cases. Syrians, Yemenis, Eritreans - all require visas in most countries. You can see the power that different passports afford their holders here: https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php?f=
On top of that, there is the issue of carrier's liability. If an airline, or ferry company etc brings someone without a visa, they can be fined heavily and the made to take that person back. So transport companies police the visa policy.
People fleeing war zones need visas to travel, which they can't obtain. They are then forced to take risky, irregular journeys.
This is also mistaken and deeply misleading. As above, refugees aren't able to travel by standard routes because no one will give them visas. And in the vast majority of cases you can only claim asylum once you are in the country where you want to do it. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296032889134555136?s=20
Entering a country irregularly and then making a claim is THE way claiming asylum is done. There is no queue of refugees who have made claims in other ways and have followed the 'rules'. The rules prohibit them claiming in other, perhaps more safe ways.
Refugee law also provides for people entering countries irregularly in order to make a claim. A state isn't allowed to take this into account when deciding on the merits of an asylum claim.
This relates to an absolutely tiny group of people and is not an option for 99.99%. I have also met military interpreters from Afghanistan who had been abandoned by the armies they worked for and were travelling irregularly to Europe. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296033252784910337?s=20
They were at particularly high risk in Afghanistan because they had worked with the US and European countries' armies and were in a state of disbelief that there was then no help to keep them safe, or bring them and their families to a place of safety.
The claim that journalists should 'just report facts' and not 'openly have bias'. This is impossible - claims to be objective and neutral are in fact, usually defences of the status quo and of those with greater power. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296033909373837312?s=20
This is true. I'd argue that the main thing that is overlooked in this issue is a solid understanding of how border, immigration and asylum policy work. What we are seeing on the ground are the results of specific policy choices, which should be examined https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296034984332005377?s=20
These asylum claims would be assessed on a case by case basis, so no. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296035729903161344?s=20
That's a good question. It relies on the idea that everyone in the world wants to come to Europe/North America tho and that assumption is untrue. Most migration is internal to countries, often to the next biggest city, where there are greater opportunities https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296035890167414784?s=20
So this one is more interesting. Before the Schengen agreement came into force in 1995, there was quite a lot of seasonal migration between southern Europe and north Africa, for harvesting crops for example. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296036145042685959?s=20
That came to an end when Schengen came into force because of the idea that once in Spain or Italy, that people might just continue north in Europe, once the harvest was done and then stay there.
One potential solution to some of the current migration issues might be the introduction of seasonal, or short term (1-2 yr) working visas. The farming sector in eg southern Italy, relies heavily on undocumented labour
and has the associated problems of very low wages (barely survivable), with many workers stuck living in makeshift shelters in informal settlements. Giving working visas would help regularise this industry and get rid of the need for people to take risky, irregular journeys.
Getting stuck along the journey is a huge risk for migrants. Several EU states reject large numbers of applicants (including those that might be accepted elsewhere) and/or offer exceptionally poor conditions to asylum seekers https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296036432935608321?s=20
The high rejection rates, the poor reception facilities and the chaos of the application procedure has often been used by states as a deterrent to people seeking asylum. Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece have been accused of this, among others.
And to address the 'these young men are from Pakistan' issue - that does not mean that they do not have valid asylum claims. That is something that would need to be decided when and where they apply.
People often do come to Europe with high expectations that they think will be met immediately and this is rarely the case. The main point in the tweet tho is the idea that migration is driven by underhand smugglers - this is not true. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296036713513574400?s=20
War, persecution, poverty are much more significant in persuading people to try to go somewhere else in the hope of a better life.
There are many reasons why someone would choose to try to go to one particular country, over another. Maybe they already speak the language and stand a better chance of being able to resume their profession in that country because of that? https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296036843427966978?s=20
Having family or friends already in a place is also a big draw - you already have a support network who can help you re-establish your life. Why wouldn't you do that?
Depending on where you're from, you will have different chances of bring granted asylum in different countries. For obvious reasons, you go to the place where you stand the best chance of having your asylum claim accepted.
The ability to get a job and to support yourself and your family is also a crucial issue for people deciding where to try to get to. https://twitter.com/_edwardcrawford/status/1296037251726680064?s=20
Going to take a break, but will hopefully return to this thread soon!
That's all folks 
https://twitter.com/alisonkilling/status/1296711520446013443?s=19
https://twitter.com/alisonkilling/status/1296711520446013443?s=19
Or not quite all - a couple of years ago I made a podcast and interactive data vis that explores these issues in depth. The podcast series is here https://twitter.com/migrationtrail/status/966684911414464512?s=19
And the data vis, which follows two fictional migrants travelling to Europe in real time, over ten days, is here. It's based on true stories. http://www.migrationtrail.com
