While the issue of migrants and refugees seeking safety in Europe isn’t new, the consequences of the situation are rarely discussed. We see images and hear reports of people crossing by boat, the hardships they have to endure along the journey, and the challenges they face once in Europe.

Yet, three parts of their story go under-reported.

First, we don’t pay enough attention to the reasons people are displaced.

Today, the number of people displaced across the world has surpassed post-WWII levels, to over 50 million people. This is a result of poverty, violence, climate change resulting in agricultural shifts, and a host of other reasons which affect people’s everyday lives. Yes, we discuss migrants’ and refugees’ need for a safe place, but we must first and foremost acknowledge their reasons for migrating.

Direct persecution, the presence of groups like ISIS and Al-Shabaab, poverty, and violence have affected people in Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, forcing them to flee. When push comes to shove, the risk of a better future free from danger and violence outweighs a migrant or refugee’s desire to stay in their home country.

Second, the treacherous journey many migrants and refugees endure before arriving in Libya and in other entry points to Europe is largely overlooked.

Large populations of women and children, often unaccompanied, embark upon the journey. One, a 14-year-old boy from Somalia slept in animal coops along his five-month journey to Libya. Many don’t know what lies at the end of the road because some leave at the spur of the moment. To escape her abusive husband, a 20-year-old pregnant woman left when she had the opportunity but doesn’t know how she will pay her way forward. These populations are the most vulnerable to those they will encounter on their journey: smugglers and traffickers who are their only hope.

Third, and most importantly, the consequences of the process of migration are rarely discussed.

Libya remains the gateway to Europe for migrants from Africa and the Middle East. Its unmanned border and the power vacuum left behind after Muammar Gaddafi’s rule means there is no government presence in place to stop the thriving network of smugglers and traffickers. War-torn countries neighbor Libya and are another challenge to migrants.

Many spend days, months and even years, navigating the Sahara, which has turned into a hub of human trafficking, with many held for ransom. Yet, when migrants reach Libya the journey is no different. Engulfed in chaos since the downfall of the government, migrants caught in the middle are used in power plays.

Moreover, the pushback from Europe has left a backlog of migrants in Libya with fewer boats leaving the ports. These conditions have resulted in the most harrowing consequence: modern-day slavery. This is the end most migrants do not know about. Even though he was escaping poverty, one had spent his life savings and over a year trying to reach Europe. He remained in the limbo present in Libya in horrid living conditions and barely any food.

When he could no longer afford the mounting costs, he was sold as a day laborer with the promise this would reduce his debt. This was a lie and in the end, after being sold multiple more times, he was ransomed before his eventual release.

Now, many migrants who haven’t yet attempted to reach Europe are resigned to stay, and some who cannot pay their way forward anymore are going ‘home’. This means we must pay even more attention to the slave trade in Libya and intervene to save the remaining migrants and refugees.