You’ve seen the horrible pictures: drowned children, tent cities, the mass chaos of thousands of people attempting to flee to safety. The immigration crisis in Europe is all over the news right now. But what exactly is happening, and why?

Europe is seeing a massive surge in illegal border crossings that began in 2011. Thousands are packing up and making the extremely dangerous trip to Europe in order to escape war, political struggles, slavery, and torture that is occurring in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, using statistics from the United Nations refugee agency, “approximately 58 percent of irregular migrants who crossed into Europe by sea in the first six months of 2015 came from Syria, Afghanistan, and Eritrea. Syrians fleeing their country’s four-year-old civil war made up the largest group (34 percent). Afghans looking to escape the ongoing war with Taliban rebels (12 percent), and Eritreans fleeing forced labor (12 percent) made up the second and third largest groups of migrants. Deteriorating security and grinding poverty in Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan have also contributed to the migrant influx.” The journey is extremely dangerous, and there are countless stories of boats floundering  in dangerous crossings and hundreds of migrants drowning.

The European Union is ill-equipped to deal with such a sudden rise in population, and many European countries are facing harsh criticism on their shameful treatment of those who are seeking asylum. There are many accounts of police detaining immigrants and treating them like animals. Videos have gone viral of police wearing surgical masks tossing food to caged migrants in Hungary, and of a Hungarian journalist tripping a man holding his young daughter as they run from police. Journalists from the New York Times who were following a group of migrants on their trip to Sweden were pushed to the ground by police in Hungary who thought they were refugees. Hungary has since closed it’s borders and put up a 10 foot fence on a very popular route used by migrants.

President Obama has said the United States will take in 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next year. This has been met with opposition by those who fear more terrorist attacks, and has also been called “an embarrassingly low number” considering that many in Germany have begun to welcome refugees with open arms, and Germany has plans to take in at least 500,000 Syrian refugees.

Though the crisis may seem far away, helping is easier than you think. Donating even a small amount can help migrant families obtain food, water, and shelter. If you are interested in donating, please visit websites like www.savethechildren.org or www.unicefusa.org . These organizations are working to assist migrant children and their families with food, water, and shelter.