In Amsterdam, Holland, a new organization helps migrants who want to return how to set up a business plan to make a good start back home. “The Dutch government should invest in training for returnees, not in immigrant detention”, they say.

In episode 6 of the Surprising Europe TV Series, Samuel from Sierra Leone tells about his life in a Dutch detention centre. In this item we only get to know a part of his story. He fled his war torn country to start a new life in Europe, but his asylum procedure failed. Because he had no papers, he was put in a special detention center in the Netherlands. This is Samuel’s whole story.

When our reporter Ssuuna Golooba from Uganda arrived in Europe he was surprised by many things. Why, for instance, do dogs carry passports and go to the hair dresser?! What do you find surprising about Europe? Grab your camera (or mobile phone),  take a picture and post it on our website or Facebook fanpage! Ssuuna Golooba himself - photo journalist and initiator of Surprising Europe - will choose the winning picture.

Arriving in a strange continent is a whole experience in itself. Watch how it made these people feel!

The Suprising Europe project is getting quite the attention in the press! Ssuuna Golooba, initiator of the project, is interviewed by Femi Akomolafe for the prestigious New African Magazine. Read the interview below!

Farouk Daku, a 26-year-old middleweight from Uganda, comes from a boxing family. But practicing his sport professionally was difficult in his home country. Daku moved to the Netherlands, where he is now boosting his career.

A shocking interactive map by owni.eu shows the numbers of immigrants that died in Europe, during their journey or their stay, since 1988.

From July 8 (NL, Ned2, Human), and August 8 (Al Jazeera English), the Surprising Europe series will be broadcasted. Watch the trailer!

Travelling by boat from Africa to Europe in a small boat can be dangerous. But most of us never really experienced it. This video gives a small insight into the horrors that some people have to endure on their journey from the African to  European shores: