FATAL JOURNEYS
i m p r o v i n g d a t a o n m i s s i n g a n d p e r i s h e d r e f u g e e s
T e a m 6 2 1

MS ’17 CS
A N T O N
A P O S T O L A T O S
MS ’17 Statistics
L E N N Y
B R O N N E R
BS ’17 MS&E
A S A D
K H A L I Q
MS ’17 CS
Q U E N T I N
P E R R O T

INTERVIEWS
Improving Data on Missing and Perished Refugees
US Department of State
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
Policy
51%
Data
19%
Action
29%
Lack of data on refugee flows,
particularly the missing and
perished, was preventing efficient
policy & strategy decisions and
limiting resource allocation
A missing link between key
stakeholders limits identification of
perished refugees, preventing
human & legal closure for families

WAY
FINDING1 HONING
DOWN2 OUR
SOLUTION3 NEXT
STEPS4

WAY
FINDING

CENTRAL
DATA STORE
W A Y F I N D I N G
Combine on-the-ground data collected by
existing organizations in Europe

LARGE NGOS
HUMANITARIAN FLEET
FIRST RESPONDER NGOS
COAST GUARD

LARGE NGOS
HUMANITARIAN FLEET
FIRST RESPONDER NGOS
COAST GUARD

LARGE NGOS
HUMANITARIAN FLEET
FIRST RESPONDER NGOS
COAST GUARD
Data isn’t really being collected
Organizations don’t have the bandwidth to do so
Even if they did, they’re reluctant to share it

Data does
not exist

Data does
not exist
Data needs to
be generated

Data does
not exist
Data needs to
be generated
Orgs can’t know
who is leaving
and traveling

Data does
not exist
Data needs to
be generated
Orgs can’t know
who is leaving
and traveling
Collect data
from smugglers

Data does
not exist
Data needs to
be generated
Orgs can’t know
who is leaving
and traveling
Collect data
from smugglers
“Don’t do that. Don’t work with smugglers. If you
talk to them, then don’t tell anyone you talked to
me about this. Just don’t do it. You will go to jail.”
- One of our mentors

Data does
not exist
Data needs to
be generated
Orgs can’t know
who is leaving
and traveling
Collect data
from smugglers
Collect data
from
refugees

I N S I G H T S - C E N T R A L D A T A S T O R E
Detailed data on refugee movements, doesn’t really exist;
so we’d need to generate it ourselves
Only smugglers and refugees themselves have exact
knowledge of refugee movements — so we’d need to
source it there

Detailed data on refugee movements, doesn’t really exist;
so we’d need to generate it ourselves
Only smugglers and refugees themselves have exact
knowledge of refugee movements — so we’d need to
source it there
I N S I G H T S - C E N T R A L D A T A S T O R E
“People arriving in Greece, everyone was using
WhatsApp — the refugees, their families, the
smugglers, everyone. They were always in touch.”
- NGO Volunteer, Lesvos, Greece

WHATSAPP
MVP
W A Y F I N D I N G

WHATSAPP
MVP
W A Y F I N D I N G
WhatsApp Bot
Refugees use it when they’re departing
Share data on who’s leaving and when
Enables faster first response

Khartoum
Sebha
Agadez
Tamanrasset
Ghat
Gatroun
Faya-Largeau
Nyala
Cairo
AlexandriaBenghazi
Salloum
Tripoli
Ghadames
Niamey
Tazerbo
Dirkou
NIGERIA
MALI
WEST AFRICA
ERITREA
SOMALIA
SOUTH SUDAN
SUDANCHAD
EGYPT
LIBYA
ALGERIA
TUNISIA
NIGER
ETHIOPIA
SYRIA
PALESTINEZawiya
Lampedusa
MALTA
Sicily
ITALY
Source: IOM, IFRC
Addis Ababa
N’Djamena
Tunis
Algiers
Damascus
Abuja
Legend
AFFECTED COUNTRY
Transit/Relevant Cities
Smuggling Hub
Main Route
Secondary
Route
Red Cross
Hub and Lang.
Sea Route

Khartoum
Sebha
Agadez
Tamanrasset
Ghat
Gatroun
Faya-Largeau
Nyala
Cairo
AlexandriaBenghazi
Salloum
Tripoli
Ghadames
Niamey
Tazerbo
Dirkou
NIGERIA
MALI
WEST AFRICA
ERITREA
SOMALIA
SOUTH SUDAN
SUDANCHAD
EGYPT
LIBYA
ALGERIA
TUNISIA
NIGER
ETHIOPIA
SYRIA
PALESTINEZawiya
Lampedusa
MALTA
Sicily
ITALY
Source: IOM, IFRC
Addis Ababa
N’Djamena
Tunis
Algiers
Damascus
Abuja
Legend
AFFECTED COUNTRY
Transit/Relevant Cities
Smuggling Hub
Main Route
Secondary
Route
Red Cross
Hub and Lang.
Sea Route
“I didn’t have a phone. I didn't talk to my family for
three months.”
- Samuel, Eritrean Refugee

Khartoum
Sebha
Agadez
Tamanrasset
Ghat
Gatroun
Faya-Largeau
Nyala
Cairo
AlexandriaBenghazi
Salloum
Tripoli
Ghadames
Niamey
Tazerbo
Dirkou
NIGERIA
MALI
WEST AFRICA
ERITREA
SOMALIA
SOUTH SUDAN
SUDANCHAD
EGYPT
LIBYA
ALGERIA
TUNISIA
NIGER
ETHIOPIA
SYRIA
PALESTINEZawiya
Lampedusa
MALTA
Sicily
ITALY
Source: IOM, IFRC
Addis Ababa
N’Djamena
Tunis
Algiers
Damascus
Abuja
Legend
AFFECTED COUNTRY
Transit/Relevant Cities
Smuggling Hub
Main Route
Secondary
Route
Red Cross
Hub and Lang.
Sea Route
“We had a translator, an Arabic speaker, on the
boats — to help give instructions for refugees to
come on board. Turned out, most of them didn’t
speak any Arabic at all.”
- Doctors Without Borders sea rescue

“People often lie about where they’re from —
they’re scared they’ll be denied asylum and sent
back.”
- Researcher in Jordan

Huge differences in language, culture, resources, and
norms along different refugee routes; so our solution
needs to be broadly applicable
Refugees are very wary of what data they share and with
whom; so ideally, our solution would be as simple as
possible
I N S I G H T S - W H A T S A P P M V P

Generate data from refugees who
are traveling
Generate data from refugees who
are traveling with minimal
friction

First MMC
Notes for each Mission Model Canvas section are in the “slide notes” section
Key Partners Key Activities
Key Resources
Value Propositions Buy-in & Support Beneficiaries/Stakeholders
Deployment
Mission Budget / Costs
Mission Achievement / Success
Factors
UNHCR and on the ground NGOs for
distribution and information
European Governments for information,
access and accreditation
State Department for information and
distribution
Governments of safe third-party states for
on-the-ground information, including the
Turkish government
Coast guard for some of the identification
process
NGOs in the water (e.g. DWB) for some
identification process
Hospitals/morgues for better information
on missing people
Key suppliers
Amazon Web Servers
What problem?
For refugees and their families: (1) we
consolidate information about missing
persons across on-the-ground orgs and (2)
develop means to identify perished persons.
Value?
This will increase the chances of finding
loved ones (part 1 only) or being able to
determine that an individual has perished
(part 1 and 2).
Asylum seekers and their families
State Department
European governments
On-the-ground orgs collecting missing
persons information (including hospitals)
At-sea orgs rescuing people
Access to existing resources: -missing
persons databases
-access to at-sea orgs
Better communication and cooperation
between beneficiaries and partners
Existence of support for refugees
Convincing stakeholders of additional benefit
of working with us
Buy-in to the shared information will be difficult to
achieve. Instead, discover stakeholder problems
and identify unique solutions enabling data
collection and support
Relationship with refugees will be supplied by on
the ground NGOs and the UNHCR
Relationship with State Department will be
supplied through mentor
Buy-in, support, and accreditation from European
Governments
Existing missing and deceased persons
databases
Data on migration flows and information on on-
the-ground situation
Data security for sensitive data
Accreditation for work in Europe
On the ground task force
Accessible database for both entities and people,
with easy information placement and retrieval
Key partnerships with existing on the ground
practitioners, integrating with existing practices
Potential set up by European governments
Indirectly achieving buy-in for adoption and data
sharing by directly solving unique stakeholder
problems
More effective resource management, more informed decision making, and greater humanitarian advocacy
among partners
Not only lessen inefficiencies with data consolidation, but inform efforts in the field and ensure safer passage
Metrics: # of refugees found, # of families reunified, # of deceased or missing refugees identified
The budget comes from organizations that are on the ground (NGOs,
UNHCR) but also from other beneficiaries such as the State Dept. and
European Governments
Data capture and information retrieval
Opportunity cost for resources spent on potentially dead vs. living
Data capture hardware, servers, initial awareness and distribution

First MMC
Notes for each Mission Model Canvas section are in the “slide notes” section
Key Partners Key Activities
Key Resources
Value Propositions Buy-in & Support Beneficiaries/Stakeholders
Deployment
Mission Budget / Costs
Mission Achievement / Success
Factors
UNHCR and on the ground NGOs for
distribution and information
European Governments for information,
access and accreditation
State Department for information and
distribution
Governments of safe third-party states for
on-the-ground information, including the
Turkish government
Coast guard for some of the identification
process
NGOs in the water (e.g. DWB) for some
identification process
Hospitals/morgues for better information
on missing people
Key suppliers
Amazon Web Servers
What problem?
For refugees and their families: (1) we
consolidate information about missing
persons across on-the-ground orgs and (2)
develop means to identify perished persons.
Value?
This will increase the chances of finding
loved ones (part 1 only) or being able to
determine that an individual has perished
(part 1 and 2).
Asylum seekers and their families
State Department
European governments
On-the-ground orgs collecting missing
persons information (including hospitals)
At-sea orgs rescuing people
Access to existing resources: -missing
persons databases
-access to at-sea orgs
Better communication and cooperation
between beneficiaries and partners
Existence of support for refugees
Convincing stakeholders of additional benefit
of working with us
Buy-in to the shared information will be difficult to
achieve. Instead, discover stakeholder problems
and identify unique solutions enabling data
collection and support
Relationship with refugees will be supplied by on
the ground NGOs and the UNHCR
Relationship with State Department will be
supplied through mentor
Buy-in, support, and accreditation from European
Governments
Existing missing and deceased persons
databases
Data on migration flows and information on on-
the-ground situation
Data security for sensitive data
Accreditation for work in Europe
On the ground task force
Accessible database for both entities and people,
with easy information placement and retrieval
Key partnerships with existing on the ground
practitioners, integrating with existing practices
Potential set up by European governments
Indirectly achieving buy-in for adoption and data
sharing by directly solving unique stakeholder
problems
More effective resource management, more informed decision making, and greater humanitarian advocacy
among partners
Not only lessen inefficiencies with data consolidation, but inform efforts in the field and ensure safer passage
Metrics: # of refugees found, # of families reunified, # of deceased or missing refugees identified
The budget comes from organizations that are on the ground (NGOs,
UNHCR) but also from other beneficiaries such as the State Dept. and
European Governments
Data capture and information retrieval
Opportunity cost for resources spent on potentially dead vs. living
Data capture hardware, servers, initial awareness and distribution
RE-EXAMINE OUR BENEFICIARIES

First MMC
Notes for each Mission Model Canvas section are in the “slide notes” section
Key Partners Key Activities
Key Resources
Value Propositions Buy-in & Support Beneficiaries/Stakeholders
Deployment
Mission Budget / Costs
Mission Achievement / Success
Factors
UNHCR and on the ground NGOs for
distribution and information
European Governments for information,
access and accreditation
State Department for information and
distribution
Governments of safe third-party states for
on-the-ground information, including the
Turkish government
Coast guard for some of the identification
process
NGOs in the water (e.g. DWB) for some
identification process
Hospitals/morgues for better information
on missing people
Key suppliers
Amazon Web Servers
What problem?
For refugees and their families: (1) we
consolidate information about missing
persons across on-the-ground orgs and (2)
develop means to identify perished persons.
Value?
This will increase the chances of finding
loved ones (part 1 only) or being able to
determine that an individual has perished
(part 1 and 2).
Asylum seekers and their families
State Department
European governments
On-the-ground orgs collecting missing
persons information (including hospitals)
At-sea orgs rescuing people
Access to existing resources: -missing
persons databases
-access to at-sea orgs
Better communication and cooperation
between beneficiaries and partners
Existence of support for refugees
Convincing stakeholders of additional benefit
of working with us
Buy-in to the shared information will be difficult to
achieve. Instead, discover stakeholder problems
and identify unique solutions enabling data
collection and support
Relationship with refugees will be supplied by on
the ground NGOs and the UNHCR
Relationship with State Department will be
supplied through mentor
Buy-in, support, and accreditation from European
Governments
Existing missing and deceased persons
databases
Data on migration flows and information on on-
the-ground situation
Data security for sensitive data
Accreditation for work in Europe
On the ground task force
Accessible database for both entities and people,
with easy information placement and retrieval
Key partnerships with existing on the ground
practitioners, integrating with existing practices
Potential set up by European governments
Indirectly achieving buy-in for adoption and data
sharing by directly solving unique stakeholder
problems
More effective resource management, more informed decision making, and greater humanitarian advocacy
among partners
Not only lessen inefficiencies with data consolidation, but inform efforts in the field and ensure safer passage
Metrics: # of refugees found, # of families reunified, # of deceased or missing refugees identified
The budget comes from organizations that are on the ground (NGOs,
UNHCR) but also from other beneficiaries such as the State Dept. and
European Governments
Data capture and information retrieval
Opportunity cost for resources spent on potentially dead vs. living
Data capture hardware, servers, initial awareness and distribution
RE-EXAMINE OUR BENEFICIARIES
RE-EXAMINE OUR PROBLEM

Problem

Missing & Perished

PerishedAlive
Missing & Perished

PerishedAlive
Missing & Perished

PerishedAlive
Missing & Perished
Bodies
Found
Bodies
Missing

PerishedAlive
Missing & Perished
Bodies
Found
Bodies
Missing

HONING
DOWN

z
1990-2013: 35% of
refugee bodies in
Europe identified
4700+ dead refugees in
the Mediterranean since
the beginning of 2016
200 000 refugees and
refugees crossed the
Mediterranean in 2015

FORENSICS
AGENTS

“Every body coming into Italy is being DNA
tested. Many in Greece. This is expensive, and
currently it isn’t getting us good results.”
- MOAS Official

“These tests are useless unless you have
something to link the results back to. A point of
reference.”
- Head of Forensics, ICRC

REFUGEES’ FAMILY
& COMMUNITY

Develop link between those with bodies and
refugees’ families in order to provide closure
— all with less friction!
Generate data from refugees who are
traveling with minimal friction
FORENSICS
AGENTS
FAMILY &
COMMUNITY
PIVOT

Less dependence on…
Smartphones
Battery
Language
Connectivity
Trust
Incentives

Less dependence on…
Smartphones
Battery
Language
Connectivity
Trust
Incentives
We needed the lowest fidelity way to test that we had honed down correctly.

SHARPIE ON
T-SHIRT
H O N I N G D O W N

SHARPIE ON
T-SHIRT
H O N I N G D O W N
Essentially, a dogtag
Refugees write family member’s phone number on their shirt
In case the worst happens, forensics agents receive the body
Number acts as a bridge back to the family

“On a T-Shirt? Yes, I don’t mind putting this
information — my name, phone numbers, it’s fine.
But I don’t want to wear that if I get to Europe.”
- Samuel, Eritrean Refugee

“T-shirts can fade, or come off, and they may not
hold up for too long in water. The concept works,
but the T-shirts may not.”
- Forensics expert

T-Shirts can be damaged or exchanged, we would need
something more rigorous
Writing a number on your shirt could be irreversible; and
refugees don’t always want to share this information, so we
need a more flexible solution to allow the refugee more
control
I N S I G H T S - T - S H I R T M V P

Develop link between those with bodies and
refugees’ families in order to provide closure

OUR
SOLUTION

WRISTBAND
S O L U T I O N

WRISTBAND
S O L U T I O N
Works very similarly to the T-Shirt
But much more robust - tamperproof and waterproof
Offers flexibility and control to the refugee

why this works and is good
Refugee’s Home
RC Chapter
Embarks
Perish
Forensics

NEXT
STEPS

PILOT

“T-Shirts can get lost, exchanged, or fade away —
bracelets are much more robust.”
- Forensics Expert, US Army

Khartoum
Sebha
Agadez
Tamanrasset
Ghat
Gatroun
Faya-Largeau
Nyala
Cairo
AlexandriaBenghazi
Salloum
Tripoli
Ghadames
Niamey
Tazerbo
Dirkou
NIGERIA
MALI
WEST AFRICA
ERITREA
SOMALIA
SOUTH SUDAN
SUDANCHAD
EGYPT
LIBYA
ALGERIA
TUNISIA
NIGER
ETHIOPIA
SYRIA
PALESTINEZawiya
Lampedusa
MALTA
Sicily
ITALY
Source: IOM, IFRC
Addis Ababa
N’Djamena
Tunis
Algiers
Damascus
Abuja
Legend
AFFECTED COUNTRY
Transit/Relevant Cities
Smuggling Hub
Main Route
Secondary
Route
Red Cross
Hub and Lang.
Sea Route

z
“How many bracelets can you give to us and when
can you get them to us?”
- Turkish Red Crescent Official

“No problems — almost all refugees get
information on crossing from Facebook groups or
informal networks like WhatsApp. So you can
advertise there for free.”
- Syrian Stringer/Fixer

DEFINING
CLOSURE
N E X T S T E P S

There’s more than just a human and emotional aspect to closure
It’s also legal and logistical

We have to prove out our basic
solution, and gain enough traction to
make it viable

THANK YOU