Their security forces are expected to stop the migrants -- with deadly consequences.

The European Union is investing money in equipping and training North African security forces with the aim of stopping migrants to Europe before they reach the Mediterranean coast. However, this approach is causing enormous human suffering that has so far gone largely unnoticed by the European public. In this film, an international research team -- including Bayerischer Rundfunk, Lighthouse Reports from the Netherlands, Der Spiegel, Washington Post, Le Monde and El País -- documents the systematic arrest and abduction of migrants by North African security forces co-financed by the EU. The film shows how thousands of migrants are transported to remote areas and left to their fate without protection, while EU representatives continue to conclude new migration agreements with North African states.

For this joint production by Bayerischer Rundfunk, Deutsche Welle, Lighthouse Reports and Norddeutscher Rundfunk, reporters managed to film in challenging countries such as Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. They accompanied militias and obtained shocking footage, secretly filming the arrests and removal of migrants and conducting interviews with survivors. And they were there to witness the discovery, yet again, of dozens of people in the desert. 

Their exhaustive research provides proof that while European governments have long been aware of what’s happening in the North African desert, they’re systematically looking the other way. At the same time, the film serves as a stark reminder that the victims of this policy are not anonymous numbers, but human beings with their own stories to tell.

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SAT 09.11.2024 – 11:03 UTC
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