People smugglers in Lebanon say migrant boats will soon be departing for Italy now that Ramadan is over. Interviewed as part of a wider research project on smuggling, migrant smugglers in Beirut and Tripoli revealed that as many as 2000 people have paid a deposit to reserve their place on the boats.
Mohammed A. is a 42-year-old Lebanese taxi driver in northern Lebanon. “I met the smuggler a month ago,” he told us. “I’m now counting the days to the travel date.” He has paid $2000 in advance to book places for himself, his two young sons, and his wife. The full price for the four of them is $10,000. “We are going to borrow money, sell the car, and everything we have, including my wife’s wedding ring,” he said. In his view, the prospect of a dangerous journey to arrive Europe is better than barely surviving in Lebanon.
A dangerous new route
In 2022, the UN agency for refugees warned that the number of migrants attempting to reach Europe from Lebanon by crossing the eastern Mediterranean had doubled for the second year in a row. This popularity of this route is new. Cyprus was a less attractive destination than western Europe, and sea routes from Lebanon to Italy or Greece were considered too long and dangerous.
