The migration wave which began in 2015 showed no signs of easing this year as masses of people arrived in Europe via the well-established routes, keeping migrant rescue ships busy. Illegal migrants discovered a new route at the Strait of Dover, leading to nearly two thousand people to attempt the Channel crossing to reach England this year. Immigrants already settled in Europe have also caused palpable tension, such as the case of a migrant in Brussels posing as a fake taxi driver to rape women and a young African immigrant who subjected a Swedish boy to hours of brutal torture because of his girlfriend.

The migration crisis which began several years ago showed no signs of abating in 2019. In their constant quest to discover new routes, resourceful immigrants discovered the Dover Strait, leading to a drastic increase in the number of irregular migrants attempting to reach England this way.  According to estimates, 2019 saw more than 1,700 migrants cross the English Channel in small boats, almost always resulting in British coastguard officers rescuing the migrants and towing their damaged boats ashore. Two days ago, on 29 December, authorities intercepted a boat on the Channel with seven migrants on board.

However, one of the most scandalous highlights of the UK s migration situation occurred not during a sea crossing but in Essex, where authorities found thirty-nine Vietnamese citizens frozen to death in the container of a Bulgarian lorry in October. The abandoned vehicle was discovered in an industrial park and its 25-year old Northern Irish driver was detained on suspicion of murder.

Meanwhile, the Balkan migration route is also becoming more popular, with Frontex registering 10,619 illegal border crossings between January and November this year. During the summer hundreds of migrants arrived to Bosnia-Herzegovina every single day, who grew increasingly frustrated about not being able to continue their journey to the EU. As a result, the migrants have clashed with each other on a number on occasions, including one incident when a local man was beaten up so badly that authorities had to call an ambulance.

People living in the Balkans are strongly opposed to illegal migration. During the summer many staged a protest in the Bosnian city of Bihac, highlighting migration-related health and security risks and expressing their concerns about migrants sleeping rough in public parks and streets. In 2019 nearly 10,000 people arrived to Bosnia-Herzegovina from the Balkans, and thousands of them are in Bihac.

The Mediterranean Sea also continues to be a popular route, with NGO rescue ships constantly patrolling the waters in search of migrants. This year s maritime rescue operations reached their climax in the summer, when Sea Watch 3 captain Carola Rackete sailed to the island of Lampedusa with 43 migrants on board, in defiance of the Italian government s ban. Ignoring the fact that she violated the prohibitions imposed by the authorities, the captain argued that she needed to dock at the earliest possibility, given the condition of the migrants onboard. In fact, NGO ships continue to ship many migrants to Italy, and since the Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party assumed power, these ships have been given direct permission to dock in Italy.

Europe, of course, is not only struggling with the influx of migrants but also with those already on the continent, and their lifestyle. Towards the end of the year we saw an increasing number of videos of migrants discussing how to occupy Europe and Islamise its population. They also mount regular attacks on each other or locals in the streets, a phenomenon quite strong in Sweden, which is seen to be floundering under the influx of migrants.

As a result of mass migration, several cities in Sweden are faced with austerity measures. They took in too many immigrants and now they have to pay the price. According to a survey by SVT (Sweden s national broadcaster), almost half of the localities wants to withdraw support from the disabled in order to help migrants, while the other half intends to cut individual and family benefits. The city of Motala, which racked up a deficit of about 20 million kronas (€1,9 million) because of granting aids to migrants at the expense of reducing heating in retirement homes, was a striking example of the austerity measures. The plan promoted with the slogan „we ll hand out extra blankets to the elderly” was perceived to be such an outrageous idea that the city eventually failed to implement it.

Immigrants already living in Europe are often involved in surprisingly violent incidents. In Sweden a „Hitler-worshipping Gambian migrant” kidnapped a young Swedish couple and subjected the teenage boy to hours of brutal torture while forcing his girlfriend to watch the entire incident. The victim shared his harrowing story with the Swedish Samhällsnytt television channel. Doctors later described the boy s survival as a miracle.

Migrants living in Brussels also give cause for concern. In the autumn a North African immigrant posed as a fake taxi driver, duping young single women on the streets to accept his offer of a ride.  However, instead of taking the girls to their destination, the man drove them to a house outside the city where he went on to rape them. This wasn t the first time a migrant pretended to be a taxi driver as similar incidents have already occurred in both Bordeaux and London.