There has been an unprecedented flow of across the Mediterranean Sea in recent years. Factors such as civil war in and in Nigeria are among the that lead people to head for Europe. Many refugees place themselves in the hands of who large sums of money from refugees before putting them into to face the crossing to EU countries such as Italy, Spain and . Many lives have been saved by rescue ships such as the Irish vessel . However, many countries in have been less than in their response to the refugee crisis.