How is it possible that thousands of people drown every year in the Mediterranean Sea, while the pro-tection of individual life is a core value in Europe’s self-perception? How do European immigration poli-cies and practises impact on Africa? What are the reasons why young people from coastal Senegal decide to leave their home? Why is it that so many Colombians are migrants to the Canary Islands, what should be done to help them in their situation? What are the specific political conditions under which refugees and undocumented migrants have to live in Germany, and what do they do to oppose their manifold discrimination?

Migration into Europe is a multifaceted issue with a deep impact on European and African societies, as well as cutting across virtually all social fields, from the labour market to health issues to questions of national or European identity. Yet equally varied are the responses by the people directly affected.

• Travelling to the hotspots of migration German journalist Charlotte Wiedemann searches for the reality behind the "Myths of Migration".
• “Gazing northward” Loren Landau points out that migration within Africa is more important than towards Europe –but European policies and practises still have an immense impact.
• Sunny Omwenyeke writes on the “Fortress Within”, the repressive conditions undocumented migrants and refugees have to live under–and struggle against.
• Manuel Ferrer Muñoz calls for a better understanding of the reasons for migration and the conditions in which migrants live, illustrated by case of the Colombians in the Canary Islands.
• Johannes Krause shows how discursive means allow governments and EU institutions to portray the death of thousands of migrants as “normal”.
• In her interview, Yayi Bayam Diouf relates the lack of economic opportunity in her fishing region and her group’s activities to keep young men and women from leaving the country.