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North Africa Mixed Migration Hub - Survey Snapshot - Italy | August 2017

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ABOUT

  • MHub is undertaking field surveys with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers along key migratory routes to build up a body of data over time and to map country and regional level mixed migration trends.

  • This snapshot presents early survey findings of the profiles, intentions and experiences of those moving in mixed migration flows who have recently arrived in Italy in the last year.

  • Though these findings cannot be considered statistically representative of the migration population, they do provide key insights into the migration process.

KEY FINDINGS

Cumulative surveys: 627 This snapshot forms part of a wider, ongoing data gathering project with respondents who have recently transited the Central Mediterranean route through North Africa on their way to Europe. To date, data has been gathered from 627 respondents in Italy, with respondents coming from Nigeria (26.5%), Eritrea (12.3%), Gambia (9.9%), Côte d’Ivoire (8%), Bangladesh (7.3%), Mali (6.7%), Senegal (6.2%), Ghana (4.6%), Guinea (3.6%), Pakistan (3%), Cameroon (2.1%), Togo (1.4%), Ethiopia (1.4%), Sudan (1.3%) as well as (cumulatively 5.9%) Burkina Faso, Morocco, Niger, Sierra Leone, Syria, Egypt, Liberia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR), Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia and Nepal.

Findings in this snapshot are based on 34 surveys conducted during the month of August. The largest group of respondents are from Nigeria (14), while 6 are from Eritrea, 3 each from Mali and Côte d’Ivoire, 2 from Gambia and 1 each from Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Yemen, Ethiopia and Guinea. In terms of demographics, 9 respondents are female while 25 are male and just over half (18) of those interviewed are between the ages of 18 and 25, while 8 are between the ages of 26 and 31 and a further 8 are between the ages of 32 and 40.

INTENTIONS

  • 14 (41%) of those interviewed reported that they had set out on their journeys with the intention of reaching Italy, while 5 (15%) reported other EU countries (such as France and Germany) as their intended destinations and 1 (3%) reported that Sudan had been his intended destination. A relatively large segment (12 or 35%) reported that they had set out without plans for a particular destination.

  • With regards to their intentions to remain in Italy or to travel onwards, 25 planned to remain in Italy while 8 reported that they intended to travel onwards and 1 was, at the time of the interview, undecided.

JOURNEY

  • 19 (56%) respondents reported seeking information before undertaking the journey while 15 (44%) said that they did not actively seek such information. Those who did seek information did so by talking with migrants abroad and/or smugglers, humanitarian organizations and friends/family and/or through accessing social media for information.

  • 2 of those interviewed during the month of August had been returned from Germany to Italy. The remaining 32 respondents travelled to Italy by boat through the Central Mediterranean route using the services of smugglers with 31 of them embarking from Libya and 1 from Egypt. Of those who transited through Libya, 18 had travelled to Libya by jeep, 10 by car, 1 had flown directly in and 1 declined to answer the question.

  • With regards to respondents’ lengths of stay in Libya, 17 reported that they had remained in the country for a period between 1 and 6 months, 7 reported staying between 6 months and 1 year and 5 reported staying between 1 and 2 years, while 3 respondents declined to answer the question.