Europe’s Refugees

Europe tore down borders after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Then a flood of refugees in 2015 fleeing wars on its doorstep triggered Europe’s biggest wave of displaced people since World War II and a crisis that put some of those fences back up. Years later, the political fallout continues with populist governments in countries such as Italy taking a hard-line stance on refugee arrivals. The 27-member European Union is deeply divided over how to handle asylum-seekers escaping conflict and