Fortress Europe

Ukraine: A Different Kind of Crisis?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompts Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War Two. We travel back to the Polish border to witness a very different kind of approach to fleeing refugees, cross into Ukraine to speak to the recently displaced, before ending in Ireland to speak to those recently settled. A nation famous for migration is now battling dark forces rejecting it. Which side will win? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Italy: The World’s Deadliest Migration Route

To stop boats crossing the Mediterranean, the EU pays Libyan gangs to abduct migrants at sea and trap them in horrific detention centres. In response, activists are exposing these pushbacks by chartering surveillance aircraft and manning emergency helplines. Meanwhile in Rome some migrants receive help from divine intervention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Cyprus: Trapped Inside a Frozen Conflict

Cyprus did not feature much in the 2015-16 refugee crisis, but subsequent years of closed borders across Europe has made the only EU member to border the Middle East a viable option for asylum seekers. But as war escalates across the region, Cyprus has started halting migration by pushing back boats and exploiting a legacy of the island's own painful unresolved conflict.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Bosnia: A Deadly Game

In the early nineties, hundreds of thousands of Bosnians fleeing war sought asylum in Europe. In 2024, tens of thousands of refugees from across the world are stranded in Bosnia. Every night they attempt a border crossing (known as ‘the game’) only to return with horrific injuries inflicted by Croatian authorities financed and supported by the EU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Hungary: In the Shadow of Orban’s Wall

In 2015 Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orban proudly unveiled a razor wire fence along the country’s southern border with Serbia. But far from stop migration to Europe, it disperses the flows through neighboring countries. Meanwhile in the frontier villages it has spawned a thriving smuggling market, with shootouts between gangs and police corruption.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]