While the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) was holding its 20th meeting in Marseille, on the southern coast of France, the region was witnessing the most terrible humanitarian disaster it has known for decades. A fishing boat smuggling migrants sank in international waters off the coast of Greece, and the sea swallowed hundreds of men, women and children who were fleeing poverty and oppression. The hardships they face in their countries make them risk their lives in search of a better future.