Migrants leave a train at a railway station on the Tabanovce border crossing between Macedonia and Serbia, on July 1, 2015, on her way north to European countries. Peter Sutherland, the UN Secretary General's special representative on international migration, bemoaned on June 26th the EU leaders' failure to approve a plan to share a total of 60,000 would-be refugees, mainly from Syria and Eritrea, across the 28-nation bloc. More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, most of them landing in Italy, Greece and Malta who say their EU partners should share more of the burden. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants leave a train at a railway station on the Tabanovce border crossing between Macedonia and Serbia, on July 1, 2015, on her way north to European countries. Peter Sutherland, the UN Secretary General's special representative on international migration, bemoaned on June 26th the EU leaders' failure to approve a plan to share a total of 60,000 would-be refugees, mainly from Syria and Eritrea, across the 28-nation bloc. More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, most of them landing in Italy, Greece and Malta who say their EU partners should share more of the burden. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)

By Land or By Sea

Looking to escape war and poverty in Syria, the Balkans, and North Africa, thousands of migrants sought refuge in the European Union this summer — or died trying.

By FP Staff
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Migrants leave a train at a railway station on the Tabanovce border crossing between Macedonia and Serbia, on July 1, 2015, on her way north to European countries. Peter Sutherland, the UN Secretary General's special representative on international migration, bemoaned on June 26th the EU leaders' failure to approve a plan to share a total of 60,000 would-be refugees, mainly from Syria and Eritrea, across the 28-nation bloc. More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, most of them landing in Italy, Greece and Malta who say their EU partners should share more of the burden. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants leave a train at a railway station on the Tabanovce border crossing between Macedonia and Serbia, on July 1, 2015, on her way north to European countries. Peter Sutherland, the UN Secretary General's special representative on international migration, bemoaned on June 26th the EU leaders' failure to approve a plan to share a total of 60,000 would-be refugees, mainly from Syria and Eritrea, across the 28-nation bloc. More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, most of them landing in Italy, Greece and Malta who say their EU partners should share more of the burden. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants have long been pouring into Europe to escape conflict and seek economic opportunity, but this year their numbers reached new heights. According to estimates by the International Organization for Migration, authorities have identified more than 350,000 migrants within the European Union’s borders so far this year, compared with about 280,000 for all of 2014. Most have left the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans and reached the shores of Greece and Italy or traveled overland into Central Europe and beyond. But not all have made it. At least 2,600 have died so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean, according to the IOM. These numbers and a few particularly horrific incidents -- some 700 migrants drowning off the Libyan coast in April, for example, and the discovery last week of 71 migrants who'd suffocated in a truck in Austria -- have focused leaders’ attention on the crisis. But despite urgent meetings and new policy proposals, many European governments and their citizens have been less than eager to accommodate all of the newcomers -- prompting protest in Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

Above, migrants disembark a train at a railway station near the border between Macedonia and Serbia, July 1.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images
KOS, GREECE - JUNE 05: Illegal migrants are seen after being caught by the Greek Coast Guard teams in Kos Island, Greece on June 5, 2015. Sixty-three illegal immigrants who passed through illegal routes to Istankoy (Kos) island of Greece, from Pakistan, Syria and Afghanistan were caught by Greek Coast Guards. (Photo by Ayhan Mehmet/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
KOS, GREECE - JUNE 05: Illegal migrants are seen after being caught by the Greek Coast Guard teams in Kos Island, Greece on June 5, 2015. Sixty-three illegal immigrants who passed through illegal routes to Istankoy (Kos) island of Greece, from Pakistan, Syria and Afghanistan were caught by Greek Coast Guards. (Photo by Ayhan Mehmet/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A migrant woman and child are caught by the Greek Coast Guard after arriving on the island of Kos, Greece, June 5. Daniel Trilling writes for FP about how private contractors are profiting from the migrant crisis.

AYHAN MEHMET/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Migrants arrive on the shore of Kos island after crossing from Turkey on a small dinghy on August 19, 2015. The UN refugee agency said in the last week alone, 20,843 migrants -- virtually all of them fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq -- arrived in Greece, which has seen around 160,000 migrants land on its shores since January, according to the UN refugee agency. AFP PHOTO / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS (Photo credit should read ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants arrive on the shore of Kos island after crossing from Turkey on a small dinghy on August 19, 2015. The UN refugee agency said in the last week alone, 20,843 migrants -- virtually all of them fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq -- arrived in Greece, which has seen around 160,000 migrants land on its shores since January, according to the UN refugee agency. AFP PHOTO / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS (Photo credit should read ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants arrive on the shore of Kos after crossing from Turkey on a small dinghy on Aug. 19. Check out Simona Foltyn's dispatch for FP on the dangerous route many migrants take through Sudan before they attempt to cross the Mediterranean.

ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images
Young children sit on the steps of the main train station in Munich, southern Germany, after migrants arrived from Hungary on August 31, 2015. Hungarian police had been stopping refugees and migrants from boarding international trains since mid-August, even if they had bought valid tickets, but on August 31 the police were, suddenly, nowhere to be seen. AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
Young children sit on the steps of the main train station in Munich, southern Germany, after migrants arrived from Hungary on August 31, 2015. Hungarian police had been stopping refugees and migrants from boarding international trains since mid-August, even if they had bought valid tickets, but on August 31 the police were, suddenly, nowhere to be seen. AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

Children sit on the steps of a train station in Munich, Germany, after arriving from Hungary, Aug. 31. FP contributor Sumi Somaskanda looks at Germany's problematic approach to the influx of migrants here.

CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images
BELGRADE, SEBIA - AUGUST 30: Migrants sleep in the street near central bus and train stations on August 30, 2015 in Belgrade, Serbia. Over 10,000 migrants, including many women with babies and small children have crossed into Serbia over the past few days heading toward Hungary before entering the EU. The number of people leaving their homes in war torn countries such as Syria, marks the largest migration of people since World War II. (Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
BELGRADE, SEBIA - AUGUST 30: Migrants sleep in the street near central bus and train stations on August 30, 2015 in Belgrade, Serbia. Over 10,000 migrants, including many women with babies and small children have crossed into Serbia over the past few days heading toward Hungary before entering the EU. The number of people leaving their homes in war torn countries such as Syria, marks the largest migration of people since World War II. (Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

Migrants sleep in the street near a bus and train terminal in Belgrade, Serbia, Aug. 30. Rob Zaretsky writes for FP about the unfortunate persistence of the British belief that the English Channel can deter outsiders.

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A woman carries her baby as she boards a dinghy to reach the Greek Island of Kos from Turkish side Bodrum early on August 20, 2015. The UN refugee agency said in the last week alone, 20,843 migrants -- virtually all of them fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq -- arrived in Greece, which has seen around 160,000 migrants land on its shores since January, according to the UN refugee agency. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman carries her baby as she boards a dinghy to reach the Greek Island of Kos from Turkish side Bodrum early on August 20, 2015. The UN refugee agency said in the last week alone, 20,843 migrants -- virtually all of them fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq -- arrived in Greece, which has seen around 160,000 migrants land on its shores since January, according to the UN refugee agency. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

A woman carries her baby as she boards a dinghy bound for Kos, Aug. 20. FP contributor Philippe Legrain writes here on why Europe should let the migrants in.

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
Emergency services provide care to an injured Syrian child after they rescued him from a sinking boat trying to reach the Greek Island of Kos on August 18, 2015 in Bodrum, southwest Turkey. Authorities on the island of Kos have been so overwhelmed that the government sent a ferry to serve as a temporary centre to issue travel documents to Syrian refugees -- among some 7,000 migrants stranded on the island of about 30,000 people. The early hours are the safest time for migrants travelling from Turkey to the Greek islands just across the water, which have seen a huge influx of refugees escaping the civil war in Syria and chaos in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
Emergency services provide care to an injured Syrian child after they rescued him from a sinking boat trying to reach the Greek Island of Kos on August 18, 2015 in Bodrum, southwest Turkey. Authorities on the island of Kos have been so overwhelmed that the government sent a ferry to serve as a temporary centre to issue travel documents to Syrian refugees -- among some 7,000 migrants stranded on the island of about 30,000 people. The early hours are the safest time for migrants travelling from Turkey to the Greek islands just across the water, which have seen a huge influx of refugees escaping the civil war in Syria and chaos in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Emergency service workers care for an injured Syrian child they rescued from a sinking boat bound for Kos, Aug. 18.

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
Syrian migrants waiting in line to register with the police authorities at Mytilene port on the island of Lebos, on August 17, 2015. Migrants escaping Syria, Afghanistan, Africa and elsewhere are taking advantage of the calm summer conditions to make daily attempts to cross the Aegean between the Bodrum peninsula and Kos, one of the narrowest waterways between Turkey and the European Union. AFP PHOTO/ ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS (Photo credit should read ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Syrian migrants waiting in line to register with the police authorities at Mytilene port on the island of Lebos, on August 17, 2015. Migrants escaping Syria, Afghanistan, Africa and elsewhere are taking advantage of the calm summer conditions to make daily attempts to cross the Aegean between the Bodrum peninsula and Kos, one of the narrowest waterways between Turkey and the European Union. AFP PHOTO/ ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS (Photo credit should read ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian refugees wait in line to register with the police on the Greek island of Lesbos, Aug. 17.

ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images
A father of a migrants family is arrested by the local police near the village of Roszke on the Hungarian-Serbian border on August 28, 2015 . As Europe struggles with its worst migrant crisis since World War II, and Hungarian police has so far this year intercepted some 141,500 migrants crossing into Hungary, mostly from neighboring Serbia. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)
A father of a migrants family is arrested by the local police near the village of Roszke on the Hungarian-Serbian border on August 28, 2015 . As Europe struggles with its worst migrant crisis since World War II, and Hungarian police has so far this year intercepted some 141,500 migrants crossing into Hungary, mostly from neighboring Serbia. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Police arrest the father of a migrant family near the Hungarian-Serbian border, Aug. 28.

ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images
An aerial picture taken on June 4, 2015 shows "the jungle", a makeshift tent village set up by illegal migrants in Calais, northern France. Around 2,500 migrants, mostly from Sudan, Eritrea and Syria, live in this camp, close to the Channel Tunnel, through which migrants seek to reach Britain. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS LO PRESTI (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images)
An aerial picture taken on June 4, 2015 shows "the jungle", a makeshift tent village set up by illegal migrants in Calais, northern France. Around 2,500 migrants, mostly from Sudan, Eritrea and Syria, live in this camp, close to the Channel Tunnel, through which migrants seek to reach Britain. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS LO PRESTI (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images)

An aerial photo taken on June 4 shows "the Jungle," a makeshift tent village set up by migrants in Calais, northern France.

FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images
A young migrant's hair becomes stuck while crawling under a barbed fence with her family at the Hungarian-Serbian border near Roszke, on August 27, 2015. As Europe struggles with its worst migrant crisis since World War II, Hungary has become, like Italy and Greece, a "frontline" state. So far this year, police say around 141,500 migrants have been intercepted crossing into Hungary, mostly from neighbouring Serbia. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)
A young migrant's hair becomes stuck while crawling under a barbed fence with her family at the Hungarian-Serbian border near Roszke, on August 27, 2015. As Europe struggles with its worst migrant crisis since World War II, Hungary has become, like Italy and Greece, a "frontline" state. So far this year, police say around 141,500 migrants have been intercepted crossing into Hungary, mostly from neighbouring Serbia. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

A migrant family attempts to cross through a barbed wire fence at the Hungarian-Serbian border, Aug. 27.

ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images
PALERMO, ITALY - 2015/07/25: Women and children are among the scores of migrants arriving in Sicily after attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The majority of the migrants hail from from Sudan, Eritrea and Syria. They were taken to port in Palermo by a Norwegian vessel, which is participating in the European Union rescue efforts in the Mediterranean. (Photo by Antonio Melita/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
PALERMO, ITALY - 2015/07/25: Women and children are among the scores of migrants arriving in Sicily after attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The majority of the migrants hail from from Sudan, Eritrea and Syria. They were taken to port in Palermo by a Norwegian vessel, which is participating in the European Union rescue efforts in the Mediterranean. (Photo by Antonio Melita/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A group of migrants are taken to Palermo, Italy, by a Norwegian rescue vessel, July 25.

ANTONIO MELITA/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images
KOS, GREECE - AUGUST 29: A migrant from Gambia embraces a friend after safely completing a journey across a three mile stretch of the Aegean Sea in a small boat from Turkey August 29, 2015 in Kos, Greece. Migrants from many parts of the Middle East and African nations continue to flood into Europe before heading from Athens, north to the Macedonian border. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called 'Balkans route' has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The number of people leaving their homes in war torn countries such as Syria, marks the largest migration of people since World War II. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
KOS, GREECE - AUGUST 29: A migrant from Gambia embraces a friend after safely completing a journey across a three mile stretch of the Aegean Sea in a small boat from Turkey August 29, 2015 in Kos, Greece. Migrants from many parts of the Middle East and African nations continue to flood into Europe before heading from Athens, north to the Macedonian border. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called 'Balkans route' has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The number of people leaving their homes in war torn countries such as Syria, marks the largest migration of people since World War II. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A migrant from Gambia embraces a friend after safely arriving on Kos, Aug. 29.

WIN MCNAMEE/Getty Images
Newly arrived Syrian migrants wait in the port of Kos to be registered on the Eleftherios Venizelos liner on August 17, 2015. Authorities on the island of Kos have been so overwhelmed that the government sent a ferry to serve as a temporary centre to issue travel documents to Syrian refugees -- among some 7,000 migrants stranded on the island of about 30,000 people. The early hours are the safest time for migrants travelling from Turkey to the Greek islands just across the water, which have seen a huge influx of refugees escaping the civil war in Syria and chaos in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year. AFP PHOTO /LOUISA GOULIAMAKI (Photo credit should read LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Newly arrived Syrian migrants wait in the port of Kos to be registered on the Eleftherios Venizelos liner on August 17, 2015. Authorities on the island of Kos have been so overwhelmed that the government sent a ferry to serve as a temporary centre to issue travel documents to Syrian refugees -- among some 7,000 migrants stranded on the island of about 30,000 people. The early hours are the safest time for migrants travelling from Turkey to the Greek islands just across the water, which have seen a huge influx of refugees escaping the civil war in Syria and chaos in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year. AFP PHOTO /LOUISA GOULIAMAKI (Photo credit should read LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Newly arrived Syrian refugees wait on Kos to be registered on a ocean liner, Aug. 17.

LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
HANOVER, GERMANY - AUGUST 17: A Sudanese refugee walks through a refugee camp at Weissekreuzplatz on August 17, 2015 in Hanover, Germany. In May 2014, refugees mainly from the Sudan set up the makeshift camp to protest and draw attention to the political and ethical situation of their home country and to seek asylum in Germany. City authorities have tolerated the camp located in the city center, but talks to end the camp are currently on hold. Germany and other European countries are currently struggling to deal with a record number of migrants, many of them from Syria and North-Africa, crossing the Mediterranean Sea or through Greece and Hungary further into North Europe. (Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)
HANOVER, GERMANY - AUGUST 17: A Sudanese refugee walks through a refugee camp at Weissekreuzplatz on August 17, 2015 in Hanover, Germany. In May 2014, refugees mainly from the Sudan set up the makeshift camp to protest and draw attention to the political and ethical situation of their home country and to seek asylum in Germany. City authorities have tolerated the camp located in the city center, but talks to end the camp are currently on hold. Germany and other European countries are currently struggling to deal with a record number of migrants, many of them from Syria and North-Africa, crossing the Mediterranean Sea or through Greece and Hungary further into North Europe. (Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)

A Sudanese man walks through a refugee camp in Hanover, Germany, Aug. 17.

ALEXANDER KOERNER/Getty Images
Migrants sit on a train from Budapest to Munich at the Austrian - Hungarian border in Hegyeshalom on August 31, 2015. Austrian security forces stopped two trains with several hundreds migrants on board near the border with Hungary on Monday, a police spokesman said, just hours after authorities in Budapest let them leave despite many not having the right visas to travel in the EU. AFP PHOTO/ VLADIMIR SIMICEK (Photo credit should read Vladimir Simicek/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants sit on a train from Budapest to Munich at the Austrian - Hungarian border in Hegyeshalom on August 31, 2015. Austrian security forces stopped two trains with several hundreds migrants on board near the border with Hungary on Monday, a police spokesman said, just hours after authorities in Budapest let them leave despite many not having the right visas to travel in the EU. AFP PHOTO/ VLADIMIR SIMICEK (Photo credit should read Vladimir Simicek/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants sit on a train from Budapest to Munich, Aug. 31.

VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP/Getty Images
Syrian refugees arrive on the shores of Lesvos island in Greece in an inflatable boat from Turkey on August 23, 2015. AFP PHOTO / ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS (Photo credit should read ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Syrian refugees arrive on the shores of Lesvos island in Greece in an inflatable boat from Turkey on August 23, 2015. AFP PHOTO / ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS (Photo credit should read ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian refugees arrive on the shores of Lesbos, Greece, in an inflatable boat from Turkey, Aug. 23.

ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images
DEGGENDORF, GERMANY - AUGUST 11: A refugee family who arrived in Germany by crossing the nearby Austrian border goes to a rest area placed in a sports hall of an initial registration center of the German federal police (Bundespolizei) on August 11, 2015 in Deggendorf, Germany. The centre processes refugees who have arrived in Germany by crossing the nearby Austrian border. Bavaria is currently struggling to cope with the daily arrival of hundreds of refugees, mostly from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq and most of whom arrive via the Balkans through Austria. Germany is expecting over 400,000 refugees and migrants to arrive this year and apply for asylum in a phenomenon that is straining both the budgets and the social cohesion of local communities. (Photo by Joerg Koch/Getty Images)
DEGGENDORF, GERMANY - AUGUST 11: A refugee family who arrived in Germany by crossing the nearby Austrian border goes to a rest area placed in a sports hall of an initial registration center of the German federal police (Bundespolizei) on August 11, 2015 in Deggendorf, Germany. The centre processes refugees who have arrived in Germany by crossing the nearby Austrian border. Bavaria is currently struggling to cope with the daily arrival of hundreds of refugees, mostly from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq and most of whom arrive via the Balkans through Austria. Germany is expecting over 400,000 refugees and migrants to arrive this year and apply for asylum in a phenomenon that is straining both the budgets and the social cohesion of local communities. (Photo by Joerg Koch/Getty Images)

A refugee family that crossed the Austrian border arrives at a rest area in Deggendorf, Germany, Aug. 11.

JOERG KOCH/Getty Images
Afghan and Pakistani migrants lunch in the migrant camp called "New Jungle" next to the fence of the ferry port in Calais, northern France, on August 14, 2015, after applying for asylum in France. Some 3,000 migrants and refugees, including many fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, Libya and Eritrea, are camped out in a makeshift tent village in Calais waiting for a chance to cross to Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUEN (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)
Afghan and Pakistani migrants lunch in the migrant camp called "New Jungle" next to the fence of the ferry port in Calais, northern France, on August 14, 2015, after applying for asylum in France. Some 3,000 migrants and refugees, including many fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, Libya and Eritrea, are camped out in a makeshift tent village in Calais waiting for a chance to cross to Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUEN (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Afghan and Pakistani migrants eat lunch in a migrant camp in Calais, Aug. 14, after applying for asylum in France.

PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images
IDOMENI, GREECE - SEPTEMBER 02: Syrian and Iraqi migrants sleep on railroad tracks waiting to be processed across the Macedonian border September 2, 2015 in Idomeni, Greece. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called 'Balkans route' has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The number of people leaving their homes in war torn countries such as Syria, marks the largest migration of people since World War II. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
IDOMENI, GREECE - SEPTEMBER 02: Syrian and Iraqi migrants sleep on railroad tracks waiting to be processed across the Macedonian border September 2, 2015 in Idomeni, Greece. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called 'Balkans route' has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The number of people leaving their homes in war torn countries such as Syria, marks the largest migration of people since World War II. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Syrian and Iraqi refugees sleep on railroad tracks in Idomeni, Greece, Sept. 2, while waiting to be processed across the Macedonian border.

WIN MCNAMEE/Getty Images
Migrants who arrived from Budapest walk on the platform at Vienna's Westbahnhof railway station on August 31, 2015. After arriving at Vienna's Westbahnhof, many of the migrants then boarded a train to Salzburg, while others climbed on to another one headed for Munich, with police looking on, an AFP correspondent at the scene said. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK DOMINGO (Photo credit should read PATRICK DOMINGO/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants who arrived from Budapest walk on the platform at Vienna's Westbahnhof railway station on August 31, 2015. After arriving at Vienna's Westbahnhof, many of the migrants then boarded a train to Salzburg, while others climbed on to another one headed for Munich, with police looking on, an AFP correspondent at the scene said. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK DOMINGO (Photo credit should read PATRICK DOMINGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants who arrived from Budapest walk on a railway platform in Vienna, Aug. 31.

PATRICK DOMINGO/AFP/Getty Images
A woman with her children walks after their arrival of Syrian refugees and migrants to the village of Tabanovce in Macedonia (Also referred to as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), just before the Serbian border, on August 30, 2015. The EU is grappling with an unprecedented influx of people fleeing war, repression and poverty in what the bloc has described as its worst refugee crisis in 50 years. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman with her children walks after their arrival of Syrian refugees and migrants to the village of Tabanovce in Macedonia (Also referred to as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), just before the Serbian border, on August 30, 2015. The EU is grappling with an unprecedented influx of people fleeing war, repression and poverty in what the bloc has described as its worst refugee crisis in 50 years. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

A woman and her children arrive in a Macedonian village near the Serbian border, Aug. 30.

ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images
Young Syrian women cry in relief after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos, by crossing the Aegean sea in an inflatable boat from Turkey, on August 20, 2015. An unprecedented spike in refugee arrivals on Greek shores is pushing the resort island of Lesbos to "breaking point", with some 2,000 people landing there every day, an aid group warned on August 18. AFP PHOTO / ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS (Photo credit should read ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Young Syrian women cry in relief after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos, by crossing the Aegean sea in an inflatable boat from Turkey, on August 20, 2015. An unprecedented spike in refugee arrivals on Greek shores is pushing the resort island of Lesbos to "breaking point", with some 2,000 people landing there every day, an aid group warned on August 18. AFP PHOTO / ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS (Photo credit should read ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Young Syrian women cry in relief after arriving on Lesbos, Aug. 20.

ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS/AFP/Getty Images
Migrants coming from Afghanistan wait at the Nis railway station, southern Serbia, for a train heading north to Belgrade, early on July 18, 2015. Illegal immigrants cross Serbia on their way to other European countries as it has land access to four members of the 28-nation bloc -- Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. Over the last two years, Hungary has been one of the main routes for people hoping to cross into Austria and Germany, most coming from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and African countries. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants coming from Afghanistan wait at the Nis railway station, southern Serbia, for a train heading north to Belgrade, early on July 18, 2015. Illegal immigrants cross Serbia on their way to other European countries as it has land access to four members of the 28-nation bloc -- Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. Over the last two years, Hungary has been one of the main routes for people hoping to cross into Austria and Germany, most coming from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and African countries. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants from Afghanistan wait at a railway station in southern Serbia for a train heading to Belgrade, July 18.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images
A child waits as migrants prepare to board a boat to reach the Greek Island of Kos from Turkish side Bodrum early on August 20, 2015. The UN refugee agency said in the last week alone, 20,843 migrants -- virtually all of them fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq -- arrived in Greece, which has seen around 160,000 migrants land on its shores since January, according to the UN refugee agency. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
A child waits as migrants prepare to board a boat to reach the Greek Island of Kos from Turkish side Bodrum early on August 20, 2015. The UN refugee agency said in the last week alone, 20,843 migrants -- virtually all of them fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq -- arrived in Greece, which has seen around 160,000 migrants land on its shores since January, according to the UN refugee agency. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

A child waits as migrants prepare to board a boat heading to Kos from Turkey, Aug. 20.

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
Migrants take a nap in the shade at the train station of Gevgelija on the Macedonian-Greek border from where they hope to catch a train heading to the border with Serbia on August 13, 2015. The number of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa to Europe has jumped in recent months and years as instability has gripped Syria, Iraq and North Africa. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants take a nap in the shade at the train station of Gevgelija on the Macedonian-Greek border from where they hope to catch a train heading to the border with Serbia on August 13, 2015. The number of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa to Europe has jumped in recent months and years as instability has gripped Syria, Iraq and North Africa. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants take a nap at a train station on the Macedonian-Greek border, Aug. 13.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images
Migrants detained by Turkish soldiers climb into a bus after failing to board a boat to the Greek island of Kosearly on August 17, in Bodrum, southwest Turkey. Authorities on the island of Kos have been so overwhelmed that the government sent a ferry to serve as a temporary centre to issue travel documents to Syrian refugees -- among some 7,000 migrants stranded on the island of about 30,000 people. The early hours are the safest time for migrants travelling from Turkey to the Greek islands just across the water, which have seen a huge influx of refugees escaping the civil war in Syria and chaos in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants detained by Turkish soldiers climb into a bus after failing to board a boat to the Greek island of Kosearly on August 17, in Bodrum, southwest Turkey. Authorities on the island of Kos have been so overwhelmed that the government sent a ferry to serve as a temporary centre to issue travel documents to Syrian refugees -- among some 7,000 migrants stranded on the island of about 30,000 people. The early hours are the safest time for migrants travelling from Turkey to the Greek islands just across the water, which have seen a huge influx of refugees escaping the civil war in Syria and chaos in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants detained by Turkish soldiers climb into a bus after failing to board a boat to the Greek island of Kos, Aug. 17.

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
Migrants sleep on a train heading north from Nis to Belgrade, early on July 18, 2015. Illegal immigrants cross Serbia on their way to other European countries as it has land access to four members of the 28-nation bloc -- Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. Over the last two years, Hungary has been one of the main routes for people hoping to cross into Austria and Germany, most coming from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and African countries. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants sleep on a train heading north from Nis to Belgrade, early on July 18, 2015. Illegal immigrants cross Serbia on their way to other European countries as it has land access to four members of the 28-nation bloc -- Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. Over the last two years, Hungary has been one of the main routes for people hoping to cross into Austria and Germany, most coming from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and African countries. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants sleep on a train heading to Belgrade, Serbia, July 18.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images
Syrian people disembark on the island of Lesbos, early on June 18, 2015. Some 48,000 migrants and refugees have landed on Greek shores so far this year, compared to 34,000 arrivals during all of 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI (Photo credit should read LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Syrian people disembark on the island of Lesbos, early on June 18, 2015. Some 48,000 migrants and refugees have landed on Greek shores so far this year, compared to 34,000 arrivals during all of 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI (Photo credit should read LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian refugees disembark on Lesbos, June 18.

LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
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gettyimages-486061356_master

Migrants from Pakistan land on Kos after completing a journey across the Aegean Sea, Aug. 31.

DAN KITWOOD/Getty Images
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By Land or By Sea

Looking to escape war and poverty in Syria, the Balkans, and North Africa, thousands of migrants sought refuge in the European Union this summer — or died trying.