Ms Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui:

The whole family will contribute and people will get into huge debt. That is one of the difficulties because there is no way out for these people. The minute they embark on the journey, they already owe a lot of money. The only way for them to pay back that money is to make it to Europe to work and to reimburse the traffickers.

Some of them are also misled. They are told they do not have to pay anything. Those are mainly the victims of traffickers. Most of the Nigerian girls I have interviewed will say they have not paid anything but have been promised jobs. Once they arrive in Europe, they are given the bill that they need to pay. Then it becomes forced labour or sexual exploitation.

For some refugees, such as those from Eritrea or Somalia, they have diasporas abroad. These people are fleeing conflicts and persecution and rely much on their diaspora. For that very reason, traffickers know there is money to be made. They are the ones who are the most abused.

Arrivals of migrants to Italy have dropped by 80% this year, yet the political crisis has never been as big as this year. It is not based on facts but fearmongering. Up to 80% fewer people are reaching Italian shores.

We also need to agree that we want to maintain an asylum system which works and protects people from persecution and conflict. On the Aquariuswhen we were stranded at sea for several days with no port to disembark at, we had people from Darfur, South Sudan and Eritrea. We need to agree that these people need our protection. They would not need to come to Libya to get the protection. They could get that protection in refugee camps in Sudan and Ethiopia, if there were proper refugee camps there with real opportunities and possibilities for them to make a living. However, we are forcing these people, with the lack of any opportunity or hope, to undertake a dangerous journey to Europe.

Looking at the complex issue of migration, we need to have long-term policies. We do not address inequalities, lack of development or the lack of rule of law in a week, a month or a year. However, our politicians and policies are all based on the next electoral deadline. There are very quick fixes with fearmongering which will get a politician votes rather than well thought through policies. This is all we ask for. Of course states have a right to regulate entry and stay. They also have international obligations. In Europe we have values. We believe life is important, that we need to preserve it and that people should not die at sea. We must have these discussions, but they must be based on proper information.