Elementor #25391

Data Visualization: The inner workings of the Refugees across the sea

For Reuters, Mariano Zafra has used data visualization to tell an emotionally raw yet politically important story about the deaths of refugees within the Mediterranean Sea. In his article for Reuters he explores the trip of 57 people who attempted to flea from Libya to Europe on a small boat; however, in this tragic story the dying engine of their boat leaves them stranded 140km from any land. The use of data visualization throughout this story embeds an urgency needed to understand the danger these refugees put themselves in, in order to escape the already unlivable territories they come from. Zafra centers the story on refugee lives lost due to the Mediterranean Sea throughout the years and does this through the jarring graphics.

What was your verification process for the timelines and details you visualized? How do you ensure accuracy while still creating an emotional resonant narrative?

Zafra: What surprised me most in this reporting — something I truly didn’t know — was how these crossings actually work. Migrants are given a satellite phone before departure with key numbers already saved, mainly Alarm Phone and Doctors Without Borders, so they can send their GPS coordinates once they reach open water. To verify the timeline we crosschecked [with] satellite data, NGO email logs, distress call timestamps, and survivor testimony. We were looking for a specific crossing, we know that that route is the deadliest. We only explained things that were verified two or three times. 

When deciding which moments to emphasize, how did you balance informing readers with creating emotional connection? Were there moments chosen specifically for their emotional weight?

Zafra: I focused on the moments that were both emotionally intense and the most dangerous in the journey. Migrants depart not knowing they don’t have enough fuel; the moment the boat actually runs out is the turning point between hope and survival. [A] one meter tall wave is not enough but only a few centimeters is enough to float and flip the boat, especially with an overloaded [boat] with [the] capacity for 10 people, and they were 57, so 6 times the capacity. These scenes weren’t chosen for drama — they represent the critical phases when people’s lives are at the highest risk. 

Visual storytelling about refugees can influence public opinion in powerful ways. Do you think about that responsibility when designing a piece like this? How did you intend to frame the issues?

Zafra: Yes, I think about that responsibility constantly. There is human suffering, there is a…triangulation of necessities. The smugglers do business with the migrants, the migrants need to travel from travel from counties of origins sometimes thousands of kilometers form Libya…Then there are NGOs who facilitate the crossing. Stories about refugees shape how people talk about migration and can even influence political views. That’s why accuracy and fairness come first. My intention was not to argue a position, but to show how policies actually work when a real boat is in trouble: longer rescue times, fewer rescue ships in the area, smaller and weaker vessel. 

How did you approach this migration piece, particularly in making an abstract crisis feel immediate and personal?

Zafra: Migration coverage often reduces human lives to dots on a map — “one more disappearance,” “one more death.” But every dot is a boat, and every boat is full of people who have been drifting for hours in fear, exhaustion, and uncertainty. A core goal of this project…was to make readers understand what a single dot really represents. In our story, that dot is a dinghy with nearly 60 people, with no fuel, drifting at night after more than 20 hours at sea. The aim was to turn and abstract crisis into something human.

At what points in the scrolling experience did you want readers to feel that emotional connection most strongly? How deliberate was the sense of immersion?

Zafra: The moments designed to carry the strongest emotional weight are when the boat runs out of fuel and the long stretch of drifting that follows, with no rescue response. The pacing slows deliberately there, so readers can feel the tension and uncertainty that the passengers lived through.

The immersion was intentional. It was simply to keep readers inside the journey long enough to understand the stakes behind the policies and the vulnerability of people making these crossings.

Where do you see this kind of immersive, emotionally driven visual journalism heading in larger publications? Are newsrooms becoming more intentional about using design to create not just understaffing, but feeling?

Zafra: I have some strong samples in other newsrooms, like the New York Times and [The] Washington Post. I see these visual narratives more often…for example 10 years ago it was more common in some newspapers to use design as an envelope for a story. You have the story and [you give] your photos with your text to the designers. That is easier, much easier but they did that all the time. I think more newsrooms now understand that design is part of the reporting, not an accessory. For complex issues like migration, climate, or conflict, visuals help readers grasp scale, risk, and human impact in a way text alone can’t.