Tomorrow is World Refugee Day. In a Berlin church mourners read the names of roughly 51,000 people who have died trying to reach Europe since 1993.¹

Last Wednesday that list grew longer. An overcrowded fishing boat capsized off the Greek coast. Hopes are fading for hundreds feared drowned.

This is the world's deadliest migration route. People pay smugglers to flee war and poverty in Africa and Asia for a better life in Europe. Many hope to reunite with their family.

For example: the relatives of Shaheen Sheikh Ali, a Syrian refugeePeople who are forced from their countries because war or persecution. who arrived in 2016. He knows 12 people on the boat and is furious at the smugglers. They treat us "like meat", he says, cramming people onboard without lifejackets.

"My relatives were only dreaming of coming to Europe to work and help their families."

Nine suspected people traffickersPeople who trade in humans - either as slaves or as migrants being transported in horrific conditions. have been arrested. EUEuropean Union. An economic and political union of 27 countries. commissioner Ylva Johansson says Europe must "dismantle the criminal networks" responsible. This is an "unscrupulous business" which exploits peoples' hopes and fears, says EU chief Charles Michel.

But the International Rescue Committee claims migrants have few alternatives. Heavily guarded land borders and a lack of "legal pathways" are forcing thousands into the sea. This has turned the continent into "Fortress Europe".

These policies include 1,800km of walls and fences, a border patrol force Frontex costing €543m (£464m) and laws that have made it a crime to rescue drowning migrants.

"The dead are victims of inequality," says writer Sally Hayden.² Europe, critics say, has spent centuries exploiting the rest of the world and now wants to keep out those affected by its actions.

The Mediterranean SeaA sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean. It has the shores of Europe on one and the shores of north Africa on the other, as well as shoreline in Asia. is not the main point of entry for refugees. Last year, 4.8 million Ukrainians legally entered the EU to escape the Russian invasion, compared to 70,000 boat migrants this year.

"Why not adopt the same policies for Arab and African migrants?" ask economists Klaus F. Zimmermann and Victoria Vernon. Recent research shows Europe needs those migrants to replace its ageing population.³

But there are 110 million displaced people globally. With climate change, this may rise to 1.2 billion by 2050.⁴ Whoever is responsible, without urgent action, there will be more disasters like this one.

Yes: Europeans must take responsibility for children dying at their gates. Europe benefits from a prosperous and safe society and its citizens should use that wealth to make the world more equal and more secure.

No: Traffickers overload their boats with terrified and desperate passengers in order to make the most profit from human suffering. They are ultimately to blame for this tragic loss of life.

Or... We cannot stop migration. And we are far from creating a perfect planet where everyone has everything they need. But we can do much more to prevent people from risking their lives in dangerous boats.