"I hope my children will never have to make this journey."

Those were the moving words of Jonas, one of two would-be economic migrants whose desperate attempt to make it to Europe formed the basis of a thought-provoking documentary.

The screening and the discussion which followed left the audience in wholehearted agreement but confused as to what should be done to make sure future generations are protected from such hardship.

Jonas and his friend, Roland, grew up in Cotonou, Benin, one of the poorest towns in the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite being university-educated, articulate, charming young men, they have never had a job and the only way their families are likely to survive is if they make it across the desert and sea to Europe, find work and send money home.

They undergo extreme physical hardship and stress as people-smugglers fleece them of their money and treat them like animals.

The documentary gave a human face to the anonymous statistics which are so often thrown at us usually inaccurately, as we later found out.

The viewer comes to really feel for Jonas and Roland and hope they succeed.

In the end, they are caught out and face a humiliating return back to their home town and a bleak future.

The event was timely after an election in which immigration was a major issue.

Most people are aware of Michael Howard's questionable views on immigrants but few realise Jack Straw has said he would like to withdraw from the Geneva Convention's regulations on refugees, or that Britain is infamous around the world for its demonisation of migrants in its press.

The discussion emphasised an urgent need to debate how best to deal with the consequences of a world in which capital is valued more highly than people.