By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
More than 32,000 migrants worldwide died or went missing between 2014 and 2018, with most deaths occurring on the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing from North Africa to Europe.
About 1,600 children were involved, according to report.
However, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in its latest report, says its global figures underestimate the true nature and extent of the problem as many migrant deaths are never reported and many bodies are never recovered.
The Voice of America (VOA) quotes researchers as saying the statistics paint a very grim picture of the perils awaiting the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants risking their lives in search of protection or a better life.
Morocco, new illegal gateway to Europe
Last year Morocco became the main departure point for Afrcan migrants to Europe, overtaking Libya where the coast guard has prevented more departures with help from the European Union (EU), Reuters reports.
Morocco is only 14 kilometres south of the Spanish coast, and shares land borders with the small Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta on its northern coast, which are surrounded by a 6 metre-high fence topped with razor wire.
Under a new crackdown this year, authorities are sending undocumented migrants they pick up to southern towns, far from the land and sea borders with Spain.
They are also clearing migrant camps in the forests and halting the sale of dinghies and inflatables.
Official figures as of May show that the country had stopped 30,000 people from illegally crossing to Spain this year and busted 60 migrant trafficking networks.
Authorities say the clamp down on traffickers in particular saw migrant arrivals from Morocco to Spain drop in the first six months of 2019 to 12,053 from 26,890 in the same period last year, according to the IOM.
18,000 deaths in the Mediterranean
The latest IOM report shows nearly 18,000 people died or went missing in the Mediterranean between 2014 and 2018. The remains of almost two thirds of those victims have not been found.
IOM Spokesman Joel Millman said Rohingya refugees comprise the vast majority of the 2,200 deaths recorded in South East Asia and most of the 288 deaths recorded in South Asia since 2014 were of Afghan migrants.
His words: “Despite the conflict in Yemen, people continue to attempt the sea crossing from the Horn of Africa across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
“At least 125 people drowned off the shores of Yemen in 2018, compared with 53 in 2017.
1,907 deaths on U.S., Mexican border
“An increasing number of deaths on the United States-Mexico border have been recorded each year since 2014, with the total we have over the five years is 1,907.”
Millman told VOA that the numbers included in IOM’s Missing Migrants Project are defined as people in transit.
There is a separate category for people who die in custody, though exceptions do occur. Recent cases of people who have died while in custody for less than two hours are included in the current data base, he added.
“In general, in transit is the rule of thumb. But we have had some cases, I think six or seven already this year of recently in custody in the U.S. or recently released from custody that resulted in deaths within a few days and those we parse the best we can in the data base.”
1,600 children dead
Another report recently released by IOM and the United Nations Children’s Fund (NICEF) focuses on the growing number of children embarking on dangerous migrant journeys.
The data finds nearly 1,600 children, about one every day, were reported dead or missing between 2014 and 2018.
Researchers say the full extent of this tragedy is unknown as many of these migrant child deaths go unrecorded.