Migration Season BBC Focus on Africa

African migrants pay people smugglers large amounts of money to transport them across the sea to a supposed better life in Europe.

The sea is dangerous and often fatal for those who make the difficult crossing; we ask migrants about the journey they have made and about the reality of life for them in the West.

Should I stay or should I go?

Mark Whittaker in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, and Komla Dumor in the Spanish capital Madrid, host a conversation between would-be immigrants and Africans who have completed the sea-crossing and settled in Europe.

departures and arrivals

Malta's migrants

Migrants' voices Journey from Eritrea Deported by Libya Detainees in Malta Migrants' Maltese reality Migrants' stories from BBC News

Located south of the Italian island of Sicily between Europe and North Africa, the Maltese archipelago has experienced increasing numbers of illegal immigrants arriving from Africa since joining the European Union in May 2004.

The country is notorious for holding the boat-loads of immigrants arriving on its shores for months in detention camps, our correspondent Rana Jawad travelled there to find more.

Report from Malta

Africa's responsibilities

What do African governments think needs to be done to avoid the problems that migrants can face when they enter Europe illegally? Abdou Abary is Niger's Ambassador to Belgium.

Abdou Abary interview

Egypt's lost sons

The number of Egyptians who migrate illegally to Europe has been rising over the last three years. They either go through Libya or they set off by boat from Egypt's Mediterranean coast.

The families of 51 young Egyptians who disappeared after they sailed off in 2004 are still waiting for news; Heba Saleh visited the village of one of the missing young men.

Report from Egypt