Migration has only started and the world better gets used to it

“Africa’s intercontinental migration has only started and the world better gets used to it!” says Ton Dietz.

Picture: Migratieakkoord EU-Afrika: ‘De Afrikanen hebben zich laten rollen door de EU’

The European Union puts high efforts to prevent migration to Europe. National politicians make it one of their most important topics.

What they do?

• Spending development money on programmes on employment opportunities, thinking it will prevent migration.
• Starting an EU emergency trust fund that includes 1.8 billion development cooperation money. EU-member states promised to add another 1.8 billion, but only 152.5 million has been paid yet.

The EU promised an equal relationship with the African Union (AU) in implementing projects preventing migration. However, the AU-commissioners were furious, because the EU decided without consultation.

• Spending mostly on border controls and housing refugees (people who fled from conflicts) in the country’s region.

Why it doesn’t work:

• Africa’s population will have grown from the current 1.2 billion people to more than 4.4 billion by the end of this century.
• Of them, currently 16 million Africans migrated to another continent, mostly to Europe. Due to population growth and economic development. Research from migration specialist Hein de Haasshows that higher Human Development Index levels initially go hand in hand with much higher emigration levels (only highly developed countries become net importers of migrants). According to Ton Dietz we can expect 34 million more migrants in the coming 13 years!
• Young people have “social desires and a quest for adventure, love and more freedom to live the lives they would like to live” (besides motives fleeing from conflicts or to economic opportunities).
• African governments yearly receive 1.6 billion euros from remittances from diaspora in the EU only.
• Authoritarian regimes like Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan see collaborating with the EU in housing refugees and border control as a chance to earn legitimacy, and are thus able to continue oppressing their citizens.

George Weah, former star soccer player and President of Liberia: “We shouldn’t stop people from migrating. Migration is a human right. The right to be who you want to be. Nobody should try to stop that. Look at me, I came to Europe. Otherwise, I’d never be who I am now. I have the right relations, I know business people and I can give back to my country. Serve your country, go to Europe and come back.”

Read more:

• Migratieakkoord EU-Afrika: ‘De Afrikanen hebben zich laten rollen door de EU’
• Africa; still a Silver lining?
• Migratie is een mensenrecht