iD Ideas Discoveries March 2017

of hidden people” are being used by

the researchers of today to craft the

border-control systems of tomorrow.

The goal: In the future the refugee

boats are intended to be captured in

international waters shortly after they

set out. According to the terms of the

cooperation agreements, so-called

third countries like Libya, Morocco,

and Tunisia are to be informed about

refugee boats that are discovered off

their coasts, and they’ll then be able

to catch these boats early on before

they have reached European waters.

Another advantage of the high-tech

surveillance: Criminal traffi ckers can

be caught in the act and arrested on

the spot. Eurosur is also intended to

ensure the systematic census of all

the refugees in the Mediterranean

camps, since they would otherwise

be able to travel in Europe unnoticed

and unregulated. There are already

thousands of refugees in Europe who

are not registered, which means it is

not possible to track them down and

deport them to their point of origin.

The importance of Eurosur to the EU

governments becomes even clearer

when looking at Frontex’s expenses

over the past few years: In 2005 the

EU budget for the border-protection

agency was nearly $6.5 million, but

by 2016 it had risen to $360 million.

And so the main benefi ciaries of the

European refugee crisis are, above

all others, defense contractors and

technology fi rms. Indeed, according

to Der Spiegel, a number of industry

representatives have been advising

the EU commission on the technical

aspects of border security for years.

Their employers subsequently rake in

new contracts. But it doesn’t matter

how strongly these collaborations

between industry and politics and

Eurosur are criticized—the expansion

of high-tech surveillance systems is

now regarded by experts as being

signifi cantly more sensible than just

continuing to build ever-taller fences.

Because it’s not just borders that can

be saved by detecting refugee boats,

in the best case it’s also human lives.

THE DEADLIEST

BORDER IN THE WORLD

GREECE

138,

According to the UN, during the fi rst 10 weeks of 2016 just under

150,000 refugees succeeded in reaching Europe by crossing the

Mediterranean Sea. Offi cial fi gures show 440 people died during

the sea crossing. But experts fear the real fi gure is much higher.

ARRIVAL ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

500,

1 million

1.5 million

2 million

0

REFUGEE NUMBERS IN RECENT YEARS

primary routes across

the Mediterranean as

well as land routes to

Germany

As of: 3/14/

arrival across the

Mediterranean

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

0

50,

100,

150,

200,

2015 2016

PHOTOS: PR. INFOGRAPHIC: PR.

ITALY

SPAIN

Croatia

Slovenia

Switzerland

Germany

Albania

Mediterranean Sea

Atlantic Ocean

Black Sea

Montenegro

Macedonia

Austria

Hungary

Romania

Bulgaria

Tu r ke y

Tu n i s i a

Algeria

Morocco

Syria

Iraq

Cyprus

Libya Egypt

France

Portugal

Bosnia &

Herzegovina Serbia

9,

458

Mar 2017 20 ideasanddiscoveries.com