At least 8,500 people have died or disappeared while attempting to cross the Mediterranean since the death of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed ashore in Turkey in 2015, drawing global attention to the plight of refugees. Most departed from Libya bound for Italy, from Turkey bound for Greece or, more recently, from Morocco bound for Spain. A further 4,185 people died in the previous 12 months, from 1 September 2015 until the end of August 2016. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A still from the Guardian’s virtual reality experience Sea Prayer, written by Khaled Hosseini. Hosseini, a UNHCR goodwill ambassador, has been an advocate for refugees since 2006, travelling to Afghanistan, Chad, Iraq, Jordan and Uganda.

Source: The Guardian September 01, 2017 04:52 UTC