Syrian Journey: Choose your own escape route Published duration 1 April 2015 Related Topics Syrian civil war

The Syrian conflict has torn the country apart, leaving thousands dead and driving millions to flee their homes. Many seek refuge in neighbouring countries but others pay traffickers to take them to Europe - risking death, capture and deportation.

If you were fleeing Syria for Europe, what choices would you make for you and your family? Take our journey to understand the real dilemmas the refugees face.

The routes, options and outcomes in this Syrian Journey feature were based on real stories uncovered by extensive research as part of a BBC Arabic digital project exploring migration from Syria.

Research by Mamdouh Akbiek, Eloise Dicker

Illustrations by Gerry Fletcher. Design and production by Charlotte Thornton, Marcelo Zanni, Dominic Bailey, Adipat Virdi

YOU CAN VIEW THE JOURNEY IN ARABIC, RUSSIAN AND FARSI

Get involved

We would like to know what you would take with you if you were forced to flee your country.

Use the hashtags #whatwouldyoutake and #Syrianjourney to post your choices, with images and/or video. These may be used in a follow-up report.

See what Syrian migrants who made the journey took with them

Survivors' stories

Real stories from people who risked the journey from Syria. A Syrian refugee tells how he nearly drowned in a lorry of melted chocolate as he tried to enter the UK.

Another Syrian, "Mohammed", tells how he walked from Turkey to Italy.

The story of how three Syrian asylum seekers reached Italy in a lorry's reserve fuel tank.

You can read the full story

media caption Badi explains how he Anas and Said survived

How a Syrian refugee's long journey to safety was made even longer.