North of the Mediterranean, the dominant media message and the public perception has been that the migration impact of the North African upheavals has been mainly felt in Europe. However, those who landed in Sicily in 2011 only represent a tiny share of the total wave of refugees that the Libyan conflict has pushed towards neighbouring countries (i.e. Tunisia and Egypt). This kind of distorted perception that Europe is the epicenter of the emergency has uncovered a few important and unpleasant facts about the European politics of migration.