六万人涌向西班牙的 Ceuta 想进欧洲，至少七十多人在海中溺亡

These past few days, one tiny place has made news around the world: Ceuta.

Ceuta is a very special place: it belongs to Spain — that is, to Europe — but it sits on the north edge of Africa, right next to Morocco.

So for many Africans, just getting into Ceuta is as good as setting foot on European soil.

On the European side, life is much better: work, money, kids can go to school, healthcare is easy.

On the other side of the sea, many people are poor and without opportunity; life is very hard.

It's that one invisible line that splits two completely different worlds.

At the end of July, things suddenly spun out of control.

Nearly 60,000 people, mostly young men, surged toward Ceuta at once.

Some swam across the sea, going around the breakwaters; some tried to climb over the border fence.

But the water was deep and there were too many people, and disaster soon struck.

By early August, at least seventy-some were confirmed dead — some drowned, some crushed by the crowd on the fence.

So many people flooding in at once, this little place simply couldn't cope.

The Spanish government quickly sent in the army and built a long barrier along the shore to hold back those behind.

Spain's leader also went to Ceuta in person.

What makes this grip so many people is that it's so real:

for a chance at “a slightly better life,” tens of thousands were willing to bet their lives.

What do you think?

In your view, what makes a person willing to take a risk this big?