Across Africa, millions are dreaming of fleeing to Europe. Families scrimp and save to find the money needed to secure a seat on a boat. Young men, often fathers, squeeze on to overcrowded, rickety fishing boats that leave Senegal, Libya or Somalia in the dead of night. They take with them nothing more than the hope that a better life lies across the sea.
Some leave because of conflict, most because of poverty. All hope to find enough money in Europe to be able to send some back home to their families. The money earned by a migrant on a construction site in Spain or hawking sunglasses on the streets of Italy can be several times more than he would have made back in Mali, Nigeria or Eritrea. African migrants' remittances are growing at a faster rate than official aid from foreign governments.
