Two migrants lost their lives on Monday in when a boat carrying more than a hundred people ran into trouble in the Mediterranean.
They had been among a group trying to get to Italy, the rest of whom were rescued and taken to Tripoli by the Libyan navy.
Libya has become a hub for migrants attempting to get to Europe with people often paying thousands of dollars to smugglers to secure a place on boats that are sometimes dangerously unfit for the voyage.
Even if they do make it they could end up in a place like Bamberg in Northern Bavaria. It’s a camp built by the Germans to house, and ultimately deport, migrants who are unlikely to be granted asylum.
“People know that a fast, constitutionally legal process awaits them and of course that is depressing for them,” said Stefan Krug, Head of the Department of Asylum in Upper Franconia. “On the other hand they know that they will be treated rationally here and considering the situation the mood is quite good.”
Officials say that faced with an unprecedented number of migrants there is growing anxiety among some sections of German society, and that’s why the deportation of failed asylum seekers has been stepped up.
In Bavaria, there were 3,643 deportations in the first 11 months of 2015, up from 1,007 the previous year.
At the same time Germany has been praised for its handling of a difficult situation and for taking in such a large number of people fleeing from war and economic hardship.