Characteristics of migrants coming to Europe: A survey among asylum seekers and refugees in Germany about their journey

Abstract

The year 2015 was significant in the history of the EU when millions of asylum seekers and refugees from the Middle East and Africa fled to Europe. Where some European countries accept immigrants from non-EU regions, others blame migrants for taking advantage of the social systems in Europe and followed restrictive policy measures. Thus, everyone speaks about migrants, but not with migrants. The article examines the characteristics of asylum seekers and refugees and their motives for coming to Europe. Over 100 interview-based surveys were conducted in this study. The findings of the paper show who these people are and from where they originated. Furthermore, there is evidence supporting the hypothesis that the majority of people flee because of severe danger (e.g., armed conflicts) and are not ‘economic migrants’ despite the claims of nationalistic governments in the EU.