Lampedusa

Some 12,000 migrants — more than twice the population of this island — arrived in a single week this month. Islanders showed compassion, but prefer that any newcomers leave as quickly as possible.

The drowning of more than 300 African migrants off Italy's Lampedusa island earlier this month jolted the world into awareness of a long-running crisis. Tens of thousands of refugees from Syria, Somalia and beyond risk their lives each year, traveling by boat to Europe in search of a better life. Scores die en route.