Europe's Migrant Crisis Explained

September 9, 2015 3:39 PM EDT

In recent weeks, chaos at border crossings and train stations, squalid conditions in makeshift refugee camps and a heartbreaking photograph of a drowned Syrian toddler have all helped bring Europe’s refugee crisis into the global spotlight. According to the UNHCR, more than 380,000 migrants and refugees have landed on Europe’s southern shores so far this year, up from 216,000 arrivals in the whole of 2014. They are fleeing persecution, poverty and conflicts that rage beyond the continent’s borders, but not all manage to reach safety – this year alone, 2,850 people have drowned in the Mediterranean. That hasn’t stopped people making desperate bids to reach Europe though. Here’s what to know about why the continent is facing one of its toughest challenges in decades.

1. What’s the difference between refugee and migrant?

The U.N. defines an international migrant as “any person who changes his or her country of usual residence.” Migrants can move for a variety of reasons and the term ‘migrant’ is an umbrella one, encompassing both asylum-seekers and economic migrants – people moving specifically to improve their living conditions or job opportunities.

Refugees, by contrast, are guaranteed a particular protection under international law. A refugee is recognized as a person fleeing conflict or persecution on the basis on race, religion, national, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Under the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention, a country is legally obliged to shelter a refugee and is not allowed to expel or return a refugee to somewhere where their life or freedom would be threatened.

An asylum-seeker refers to a person who has applied for asylum but whose refugee status has not yet been determined.

2. Where are the migrants and refugees coming from?

A number of spiraling crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Ukraine and Iraq have partly driven the crisis, but more than half of all refugees worldwide in 2014 came from just three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Since Syria’s civil war began in 2011, more than 4 million Syrians have sought shelter in neighboring countries and another 7.6 million have been forced from their homes but remain displaced within Syria. An increase in attacks by President Bashar Assad’s forces and the growth of ISIS are fueling the movement, but people are partly fleeing now because it’s become clear that the conflict is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. The same is true for other modern conflicts that have been dragging on – over half of the world’s refugees have been in exile for more than five years.

These Photos Show the Massive Scale of Europe’s Migrant Crisis

Greece Migrants — Syrian and Afghan refugees warm themselves and dry their clothes around a fire after arriving on a dinghy from the Turkish coast to the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, early on Oct. 7, 2015. Muhammed Muheisen—AP

migrant refugee greece — A migrant who recently arrived across the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey, watching a ferry in the port of Mytilene, Lesbos island, Greece, on Oct. 5, 2015.Zoltan Balogh—EPA

refugees migrants Lesbos Greek islands — An Afghan wades to the shore after arriving in an overloaded rubber dinghy on the coast near Skala Sikaminias, Lesbos island, Greece, Oct. 1, 2015. Filip Singer—EPA

Syrian refugees Lesbos Greece — Syrian refugees are covered with life blankets upon arriving to the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on Sept. 28, 2015. Aris Messinis—AFP/Getty Images

migrants refugees Lesbos — Migrants and refugees arrive on Sykamia beach, west of the port of Mytilene, on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on Sept. 22, 2015. Iakovos Hatzistavrou—AFP/Getty Images

Croatia Migrants — Migrants and refugees board a train by climbing through the windows as they try to avoid a police barrier at the station in Tovarnik, Croatia, on Sept. 20, 2015. Manu Brabo—AP

migrants hungary serbia border clash — A migrant holds his child during a clash with Hungarian riot police at the Horgos border crossing in Serbia, on Sept. 16, 2015.Sergey Ponomarev—The New York Times/Redux

migrants serbia — Migrants sleep on a highway in front of a barrier at the border with Hungary near the village of Horgos, Serbia, on Sept. 16, 2015. Marko Djurica—Reuters

Hungary Serbia border — A wagon equipped with razor wire is placed at the border between Hungary and Serbia in Roszke, some 10 miles southeast from Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 14, 2015, to close the gap of the temporary border fence at the Horgos-Szeged railway line. Balazs Mohai—EPA

refugees migrants Lesbos — A refugee reacts from exhaustion while swimming towards the shore after a dinghy carrying Syrian and Afghan refugees before reaching the Greek island of Lesbos, on Sept. 13, 2015. Alkis Konstantinidis—Reuters

refugees migrants Hungary — Syrian people sleep inside a greenhouse at a makeshift camp for asylum seekers near Roszke, southern Hungary, on Sept. 13, 2015. Muhammed Muheisen—AP

Hungary Migrants refugees children — Syrian refugee Raed Alabdou, 24, holds his one-month old daughter Roa'a, while he and his wife hide in a field not to be seen by Hungarian policemen, after they crossed the Serbian-Hungarian border near Roszke, southern Hungary, on Sept. 11, 2015. Muhammed Muheisen—AP

refugees migrants macedonia — Migrants and refugees beg Macedonian police to allow passage to cross the border from Greece into Macedonia during a rainstorm, near the Greek village of Idomeni, on Sept. 10, 2015. Yannis Behrakis—Reuters

refugees migrants Morahalom Hungary — Migrants run over a motorway from a collection point that had been set up to transport people to camps in Morahalom, Hungary, on Sept. 9, 2015.Dan Kitwood—Getty Images

syrian refugee migrant hungary — A young Syrian man from Damascus tries to evade the Hungarian police by sneaking through a forest close to the Serbian border in Morahalom, Hungary, on Sept. 8, 2015. Dan Kitwood—Getty Images

refugees migrants Serbia — Migrants cross into Hungary as they walk over railroad tracks at the Serbian border with Hungary in Horgas, Serbia, on Sept. 7, 2015.Dan Kitwood— Getty Images

refugee migrant Lesbos — A refugee from Syria prays after arriving on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos aboard an inflatable dinghy across the Aegean Sea from Turkey, on Sept. 7, 2015. Angelos Tzortzinis—AFP/Getty Images

syrian refugees migrants greek coast guard — A migrant scrambles to climb back aboard a rubber dinghy full of his fellow Syrians as they try to cross from Turkey to the Greek islands on their way to claim asylum in the European Union, late on Sept. 6, 2015.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME

Migrants walk along rail tracks as they arrive to a collection point in the village of Roszke, Hungary, on Sept. 6, 2015.Marko Djurica—Reuters

migrant refugees train macedonia — Migrant families ride a train from Gevgelija to the Serbian border in Macedonia, on Sept. 4, 2015.Dan Kitwood—Getty Images

Italy Migrants refugees — Migrants crowd the bridge of the Norwegian Siem Pilot ship sailing along the Mediterranean sea, on Sept. 2, 2015. Gregorio Borgia—AP

Aylan Kurdi boy drowned — A Turkish gendarme carries the body of Alan Kurdi, 3, who drowned along with his brother Galip, 5, and their mother, in a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos, in the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, on Sept. 2, 2015.Reuters

Migrant crisis — Dozens of refugee families, mostly from Syria, camped near the Keleti train station in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 2, 2015.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME

refugees migrants Hungarian-Serbian border — A father of a migrants family is arrested by the local police near the village of Roszke on the Hungarian-Serbian border on Aug. 28, 2015.Attila Kisbender—AFP/Getty Images

Syrian migrants cross under a fence as they enter Hungary at the border with Serbia, near Roszke, on Aug. 27, 2015. Bernadett Szabo—Reuters

Hungary border fence migrants refugees — Hungarian soldiers install a wire fence at the border between Hungary and Serbia near Hercegszanto, 115 miles southeast from Budapest, on Aug. 25, 2015. Tamas Soki—EPA

syrian migrant refugee girl greece — A little girl from Syria looks out of a bus as the ferry she arrived in is reflected in the bus window at the port of Piraeus, Greece, on Aug. 25, 2015. Petros Giannakouris—AP

Macedonian police clash with refugees at blocked border — Children cry as migrants waiting on the Greek side of the border break through a cordon of Macedonian special police forces to cross into Macedonia, near the southern city of Gevgelija, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Aug. 21, 2015.Georgi Licovski—EPA

Calais migrants — Gendarmerie attempt to prevent people from entering the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles, Calais, France on July 30, 2015.Rob Stothard—Getty Images

Kos Migrants Greece — Life vests and a deflated dinghy are seen on a beach on the Greek island of Kos, following the arrival of Afghan immigrants, on May 30, 2015.Yannis Behrakis—Reuters

3. So why is the crisis just hitting Europe now?

It’s due to a combination of factors. The developing countries who are currently hosting the vast majority of refugees from Syria are reaching breaking point. Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, sheltering 3.6 million Syrian refugees between them, are overwhelmed, and international humanitarian funding is falling far short of the need. Many would rather attempt the dangerous journey to Europe than subsist in impoverished, overcrowded refugee camps.

The increased numbers have also been encouraged by German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s pledge to Syrians that if they could manage to reach Germany, they could apply for asylum there – effectively suspending an E.U. law that requires the first country an asylum seeker arrives in to be responsible for documenting and processing his or her application, and resettling them. The rule has placed a disproportionate burden on the southern countries of Italy, Greece and Malta, who see the most arrivals from the Mediterranean.

There’s also a self-perpetuating element to the crisis; people who reach Europe successfully encourage friends and families to join them, and several Facebook pages in Arabic provide information for people making the same desperate bids to reach the continent. Increased international media coverage may also be playing a part in the surge of migrants as rumors of impending caps on refugee numbers, or brief gaps in border control along various frontiers encourages people to try to cross while they can.

But along with the waves of Syrian refugees are many people fleeing turmoil or poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Lots of them would have previously found safety or jobs in Libya but that country’s worsening instability has propelled even more people to try their chances on the Mediterranean. This movement of people is unlikely to slow until winter arrives, making that journey even more difficult and dangerous than it already is.

4. How are European countries responding to the crisis?

With tensions running high, Europe’s leaders remain divided on how best to respond to the crisis. Germany has said it will spend $6.6 billion to cope with the 800,000 migrants and refugees it expects to welcome by the end of 2015. The country had already accepted 99,000 Syrians by July 2015, while Sweden has taken in 65,000.

On Wednesday, the European Commission’s President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed national quotas to relocate an additional 120,000 asylum-seekers across Europe, on top of previous plans announced in May to redistribute 40,000 people. Juncker said tackling the crisis was “a matter of humanity and human dignity. It is true that Europe cannot house all the misery in the world. But we have to put it into perspective…This still represents just 0.11% of the EU population. In Lebanon refugees represent 25% of the population.”

The new proposal, which could be ratified on Sept.14 at a special meeting of the interior ministers from the 28 E.U. member states, hopes to move 60% of the refugees currently in Italy, Greece and Hungary to Germany, France and Spain. France has committed to taking 24,000 migrants over two years and Spain said Wednesday it would take in an extra 15,000 people according to quotas.

Not everyone has welcomed the plans, with Poland and Romania opposing the idea – though Poland agreed to take in more refugees. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka of the Czech Republic – where officials recently came under fire for numbering migrants with indelible ink – said compulsory quotas were “not a good solution”. Slovakia, which has only taken 61 Syrians this year, recently announced it would only take in Christian migrants and Prime Minister Robert Fico called Juncker’s proposals “irrational”. Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister last week made a series of inflammatory remarks, including arguing that the influx of migrants from the Middle East poses a threat to Europe’s Christian identity. The country is focusing on building a barbed-wire fence along its border with Serbia.

5. What can the U.S. do?

The U.S. has resettled only 1,554 Syrian refugees since the start of the civil war in 2011, out of the more than 4 million who have fled. International organizations have been trying to persuade the federal government to take in more, but the White House has yet to make a formal commitment to doing so. A State Department spokesman told TIME that the U.S. is likely to admit 1,500 – 1,800 Syrian refugees in total by October and expects to see an increase in that number in the following fiscal year.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday the U.S. would commit to increasing the number of refugees it would take from 70,000 to 75,000. Some of them would be from Syria, but he did not give any specific numbers. Kerry’s predecessor, the Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton, has called for a “concerted global effort” to ease the crisis.