Why wretched Lebanese are fleeing across the sea

Last August 31-year-old Nader Yusuf embarked with 410 other people on an eight-day sea crossing from Lebanon to Italy. His salary as a delivery driver, priced in Lebanese pounds, had plummeted in two years to barely 5% of its original value against the dollar, leaving him unable to afford his $100-a-month rent. He was promptly evicted, along with his pregnant wife and five children, two of whom were seriously ill.Depressed and desperate, Mr Yusuf sold his truck for $4,000, borrowed another $2,000 to pay a smuggler to take him to Europe and called his wife from the boat to say what he had done. “Please forgive me, I had no other choice.”