Europe | Out of sight, out of mind

The EU’s endless search for a migration fix

An internal deal comes together while a cross-Mediterranean one falls apart

 Migrants in a dinghy off the coast of Sfax, a city in southern Tunisia.
Image: Getty Images
|MADRID AND ROME

When boubacar Touré heard the crash of a tour bus near Venice, plunging 15 metres from a bridge, he ran towards the noise. He and a room-mate helped pull people from the bus as it burned. The accident killed 21; more might have died if not for his heroics. “When somebody needs help because they’re dying, you don’t just walk away.” Mr Touré, a Gambian, was himself rescued from his crossing of the Mediterranean at the age of 17. “The Italians saved my life and now I’ve done something for them,” he said.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Out of sight, out of mind”

From the October 14th 2023 edition

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