“I met families scattered across the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe like the beads of a broken necklace. Having given up hope on Syria, they saw Europe as their only chance of coming together again. If even a single member could make it, perhaps they had a chance at reunification.” Priyanka Motaparthy, for The Nation, reports on the Syrian refugees intent on making a sea crossing from Egypt to Italy that they call “the journey of death”.