A hundred years ago, there were no visas or passports. Today, the bodies of fifty thousand migrants lie at the bottom of the Mediterranean, drowned along smuggling routes. How did we get here?

Journalist, writer, and human rights activist Gabriele Del Grande was among the first to expose the downsides of European policies against migration. Through his blog Fortress Europe, launched in 2007, he began documenting the deaths of migrants making desperate attempts to reach Europe.

In 2024, he created a unique theater monologue, illustrating how, in just over 100 years, the West has developed a complex visa system—previously non-existent—to control people's freedom of movement.

I had the honor of contributing to this important project by creating a series of maps that highlight the intertwined connections between colonialism, war, and the ongoing deaths of thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.