Mediterranean Cities on the Frontlines of Migration
More people today have been forcibly displaced from their homes than at any time since World War ll. According to the UN, a record 70 million people around the world are living as refugees or are displaced in their own countries worldwide. The Mediterranean region has been at the center of intense debates over migration since 2015, when an unprecedented number of refugees and migrants – many fleeing the war in Syria and conflicts elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa – arrived on Europe’s shores. Five years later, the debate continues as different countries and communities take different approaches to grappling with the issue.
In the season 3 finale, Out of Order travels to Marseilles, France to explore migration in the Mediterranean with key players in the region and, specifically, how the cities on the frontlines are managing and adapting to new realities.
Show note: The interviews for this podcast were taped at the 19th meeting of the German Marshall Fund’s Mediterranean Strategy Group, which met in Marseilles earlier this year. The gathering was focused on the key role cities play in confronting the challenges and opportunities of migration in the region. For more reading on recent developments in the region, see the links below. New episodes of Out of Order will resume in January 2020.