THE HIDDEN RESPONSIBILITIES, CAUSES, COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS AND STEREOTYPES OF EUROPE TOWARD AFRICA.
What is IMMIGRATION? Immigration is the international movement of peoples into a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle or reside there, especially as permanent residents or naturalized citizens,or to take up employment as a migrant worker or temporarily as a foreigner.
And this is how Europe see Africans, as much poorer, less educated fleeing from poverty and ignorance. But this are the reality:
E.U contribute to Africa,s economic misery due to its selfish external trade policy. Never the less, the prevailing perspectives of the EU and of its member countries concerning African IMMIGRATION remains to be focused on security, the foreclosure of its external borders and prevention,s. Current EU programs and concepts to fight African migration are questionable. Even development oriented approaches are bound to fail, if not backed by sustainable Immigration Policies.
Africa,s ECONOMIC history is a history of large population movements driven by a variety of reasons: Notably, slave trade and colonialism by the Europeans, violent conflicts interfered and sponsored by western powers, extreme poverty caused by the Europeans of looting all the resources and now being misused by our own leaders whom are raise by the Europeans. Ecological degradation, population pressure and a certain cultural prosperity of some ethnic groups for outward orientation. Still up today most of the half of Africans live under conditions of extreme poverty and definitely insecurity.
Migration is not necessarily a zero game, where one side losses to the benefits of others. This hold for Africa too. In the idea case, all parties involved could gain benefit:The migrants, their extended families at home,the countries of origin and the receiving countries,if migration would be properly managed in the overall interest. But unfortunately selfish interest of major players which are Europeans involved in this game, both on an individual and state level.
By their discouragement and zero-Migration policies on the part of the fortress Europe for Example, encouraging Irregular migration, smuggling, marginalization and exploitation of migrants on different levels and stages of their journey to Europe.
As Africa lost their Educated peoples as many have most to gain by Europe of their resources endowment and they are more vulnerable than others to benefit from the pull factors, like better living and economic conditions in their host countries. This is one of the reasons of a considerable” BRAIN DRAIN“Which is the EMIGRATION of highly trained or qualified people from a particular country.
As Africa lost 3rd of its academic work force to highly Industrialized countries like Europe and U.S.
Africa has been the most important source of this” BRAIN DRAIN” due to the economic and/or political crisis being caused and fuel by the Western powers.
How ever, there are also positive the opposite of “BRAIN DRAIN” which is “BRAIN GAIN” Which is an increase in the number of highly, foreign-born professionals entering a country to live and work where greater opportunities are offered. Which is transfer of knowledge, of innovations and the consolidation or extension of foreign trade relations. New value systems,political and spiritual orientations, acquired by migrants in Europe, and Imported into their home countries often contributed significantly to the development of Africa. Migrants among the African political elite for example mostly educated at European Universities, played a decisive role in many liberation movements. Heroes of African Independence, like LEOPOLD SEDARSENGHOR, KWAME NKURUMA, AMILCAR CABRAL,FRANTZ FANON or Nelson Mandela and many exiled politicians of A.N.C which contributed to the end of apartheid in South Africa.
In additions, remittances of African migrants can contribute considerably not just the well being of their families at home, but to poverty reduction and development on a regional or even changing of dictatorship regime, example like The Gambia Where there was a dictatorship ruling of 22 years, but The Gambian migrants or peoples living in diasporas play the most important role to make change through remittances.
Therefore, it has been recognized that remittances; Mostly from Europe; constitute the second largest source of external private finance in African developing countries, up to now they are an underutilized and badly manage source of national development in the countries of origin.
However, the EU member countries bear their share of responsibility too: highly entry barriers, and the criminalization of irregular migrants,results in social seclusion and formation of ghettos of migrants in European capitals, which discourage remittances because the concerned prefer to care for their immediate own needs in an hostile social and political environment.
MIGRANTS ROUTES FROM AFRICA TO REACH TO EUROPE.
How African migrants make there way to Europe.
Within this two decades Northern Africa developed into a transit region for sub-Saharan migrants. The new migration pattern, its policy response by the Maghreb and European states, as well as its negative; side effects; on the migrants concerned. And the actual number of migrants living in transit in northern Africa is difficult to estimate. Most of them are irregulars and without papers, mostly living under miserable conditions without being treat as human being, in an Arabic Xenophobic social environment.
As part of my own experience with many of my fellow Sub-Saharan migrants who passed through Libya considered ourselves being treated as slaves and inhumane, poor wretches, or subhuman beings .And we are not certainly welcomed by the local population and the authorities.
And many thousands of African migrants died or went missing on the perilous sea journey under appalling conditions, according to the estimation of I.O.M.
And migrants have to pay a large amount of money to the smugglers .
Unfair EU foreign trade policy migration pressure of young youths from Africa, because no other perspectives for them to make for their lives.
And this has been recognized by the EU member states too. And they promised to stem the growing flow of migrants, among others is by increasing in the so-called development Aid to the most West and North African countries. How ever their So-called Aid and development do not necessarily lead to a reduction of migration, hence its not going into the right place and not benefiting the youths.
According to the studies published by the World Bank, International NGOs, and others repeatedly blamed EU in this respect, providing that the EU foreign trade policy contributes to a significant extend to reduce the income earning possibilities of African producers, in pursuit of the commercial interest of the EU members states, and to the detriment of development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition, this selfish foreign trade policy of the EU an its member states counteracted its own pro-poor development cooperation with African states which it tried to implement since decades.
CONCLUSION.
African migration is a reflection of its socio-economic dynamics since the times of the slave trade. In this decades the number of refugees from conflicts in Africa increased dramatically. The conflicts ridden and poverty Stricken region of Western Africa became cradle of migration from Sub-Saharan African to Europe, where most African migrants with overseas destinations live. They flee from their desolate economic situation, violent conflicts or political persecution. They DRAIN of human capital from Africa is most pronounced in the employment sector for highly qualified personnel.
The European Union and its member states share a heavy dual responsibility for the continuing migration pressure: first because they fostered over decades corrupt and autocratic regimes like dictatorship countries or leaders which are cooperating with them like Sudan president Omar Al-Bashir, Idriss Deby and many more others. And those dictatorship regimes are still to be felt today, and constitutes one of the underlying factors for politically motivated migration. Secondly, the EU contributed to Africas growing economic misery, due to the damaging effects of European selfish external trade policy. Nevertheless, the prevailing perspectives of the EU concerning Africans immigration remains to be focused on security foreclosure of its external borders and prevention.
Research and written by Moro Yapha or commonly known as Yaya Yaffa.A refugee and political activist.
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