Abstract

The different regions of our Planet are closely interlinked, but unbalanced. The gap is not only economic, political, social, cultural, ecological, environmental and religious, it is - above all - demographic. The communicating vessels theory has been used to explain population flows from areas of high demographic pressure to those with a declining population. Although visually effective, this theory is inadequate to describe the intense and unpredictable mass migrations from the South Mediterranean shores that have occurred in recent years. No walls, laws, or barbed wire can hold back this unstoppable mass driven by both despair and hope in a better life.