This year has seen two migrant crises unfolding - one in South-east Asia, involving tens of thousands of mainly Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar's Rakhine state, and the other in Europe, which saw a record flow of nearly one million people, many of them from conflict-torn Syria. The Straits Times' Foreign Desk traces the treacherous journeys of two refugee families.
Close brush with death in Syrian's flight to Germany
FRANKFURT - Mr Fadi Haddad crawled under barbed wire in Syria's north-western village of Kessab and crossed a forest to reach Turkey, the start of a journey to the edge of despair in the hands of unscrupulous migrant smugglers.
Twice, he had a brush with death - once on a sinking boat and another time when a screwdriver-wielding refugee charged at him in a German transit camp.
"Even now, I think my life is in danger," says Mr Haddad, 39, from his flat, his mournful eyes staring from a gaunt, thinly bearded face as he reflects on his seven attempts by sea, land and air to reach Germany.
Germany expects one million refugees this year, putting pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel to cut the numbers, partly by working with Turkey to improve the lives of some 2.2 million Syrian refugees there, and plug the migrant path to Europe. For Mr Haddad, crossing into Turkey in October 2012 was the easiest part of his journey. (Courtesy of AsiaOne World News)
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