Facts

first lets all ponder over the following points

1.  Over 280,000 peple reached Europe by the mediteranean in 2014

2.  Over 85,000 so far have attempted it this year

3.  Italy received more than 140,000 of the arrivals

4.  A little over 3,500 people died in 2014

5.  Over 3,000 have died so far this year

6.  Over 47,000 people Syrians applied for Asylum in 2013 (Europe)

7.  Sweden alone granted over 80,000 asylum to Syrians in 2014

8.  500,000 people are predicted to flee Syria alone this year

9.  Smugglers in Libya charge at least $1000 a person

10.  Between 17-22 april over 10,000 had to be rescued

 

Brief History of meditarenean migration

In the 1950s and 1960s West Europe had a labour shortage. Many governments recruited migrants from North Africa to work in those jobs where there were shortages. Many brought their families. They were looking for a better life and a chance to settle. This continued well into the 1970s. At this time entry into Europe was legal. But in the 1980s and 1990s these same European countries started to impose strict quotas on the numbers of migrants coming in. Under the 1985 Schengen Treaty, it became much more difficult to get a visa. Many people, particularly young people, began searching for illegal ways to get into Europe. As a result, a lot of people risked their lives and many of them died. At this time young people from sub-Saharan Africa started migrating into North-Africa also seeking ways to get to Europe. Today they come from more than 20 countries, drawn to Libya as the funnel to Europe for various reasons.

 

 

The Push factors

Prior to the late 90s the pull factors (mainly economic) were greater in terms of patronage, today the reverse is true. Upheavals and instability across much of Africa and the Middle East combined with the perception that Libya's doors are open -- have led to a massive increase in the numbers trying to reach Libya.

 

Why Libya?

One reason is that other routes -- through Saudi Arabia and to Israel -- have become more difficult: Israel has adopted a much tougher approach on would-be Eritrean migrants trying to enter the country through the Sinai desert, including detention and instant repatriation. As a result migrant mainly use Mediterranean cos it is the only way to get to their destination.

primary factors that have resulted in the rise of mediteranean migration include>

1. Extreme poverty

2. Prolong insecurity

3. Sexual violence

4. Lack of access to basic needs

5. Running from religious persecution and discrimination (recent murder of Egyptian and Ethiopian Christians by ISIS's Libyan affiliate may have hastened the departure of some)

6. Forced migration (migrants who are n Libya already cant go back home)

7. Smuggling syndicates

8. Eritreans want to escape repression or military service;

9. Somalis flee Al-Shabaab and clan warfare;

10. Syrians have given up hope of returning home.

11. Gambians are fleeing political oppressio

12. In West Africa, young men sell all they have in the hope of a better life in Europe

 

Questions

 

Let uss ask ourselves

1.  Why are people from countries in the southern Africa regions (SA, Botswana, Angola, Malawi etc) are never migrating (perhaps SADA works)

2.  Why are western African counterparts ever migrating (perhaps ECOWAS doesn’t work)

 

The main problems at hand now

We are in a period of unprecedented human disaster & emergency for West Africa coast and to the gulf of guinea across south Asia. We have a series of conflicts the world has never seen since WWII and there are no political processes or active negotiations right now that offer short/medium term solutions. In the late 90s when migration was this highly important, there were various political processes and discussions ongoing, today there is absolutely none and its not known if there will be. There is the need to save life first. No one knows the outcome of the Yemen crisis, Iraq instability, Syrian atrocities,  and most importantly how far the ISIS will go. Saudi Arabia is warming up, Tunisia is still fragile. Unfortunately Libya which used to serve as a safety net for EU is currently unsafe.

 

 

What has been suggested?

Illegal migration is a complex problem and no easy solutions are there to solve it. Unfortunately people will continue to die and still try to move out of their own countries for among other reasons listed above. However  the recent shipwreck in Lampadusa have shown that the only tools the EU and its member states have for dealing with the arrival of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea are strict border control. The border is so structurally flawed that these measures make repetition of such dramatic situation inevitable. They force migrants to board shaky boats that often capsize and lose power in the middle of the perilous journey of more than 300 miles.

 

The EU has suggested the following

1. Destroying of smuggling boats

2. Returning illegal migrants upon arrival

3. Prosecuting smugglers upon arrival

4. European countries, including Britain, are deploying extra ships and helicopters to the Mediterranean to beef up an existing search and rescue operation.

5. Providing safety boats to save migrants

6. Establishing a buffer zone along the Mediterranean

7. Returning of the Italian coast guards

8. distributing immigrants to various EU countries

9. Saving migrants b4 they get Libyan boats

 

However the EU is unable to achieve any of these without the use of force, however these are not part of NATO's mandate so not so much can be done in this regard. David Cameron is against the idea of redistributing migrants, in fact he is resort to the conventional way of dealing with immigrant; Deprivation & Deportation (D & D), Germany cannot take more, Sweden is saturated, Italy has no option and Spain is no go zone.

 

So what now?

The recent shipwreck in Lampadusa have shown that the only tools the EU and its member states have for dealing with the arrival of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea are strict border control. The border is so structurally flawed that these measures make repetition of such dramatic situation inevitable. It is one thing to deal with the smugglers and it is another to ensure that people who deserve asylum receive the needed help thereof. When one religious group throws the other over board in an attempt to reach land are they really looking for shelter, fleeing political oppression, or just criminals!!! From the ongoing discussions one thing is clear; treating the would be migrants and immigration as criminals without looking at what has precipitated their actions in the first place. The migrants don’t like the status quo neither does the EU. The international community looks up to deal with the situation in a more holistic manner.

 

How?

1. Larger resettlement quotas for the refugees are advocated.

2. More legal avenues for migration (opportunities for people to immigrate legally)

3. Arrest and prosecute migrant smugglers

4. Alternative for migrants (temporal protective status)

5. Asylum if qualified

6. Repatriation 

7. How to save the migrants b4 they get on Libya’s boat

8. Dialogue with countries of origins

9. Dialogue with transit countries

10. Strengthening economies of the would be migrants countries

 

 

Conspiracy Theory (EU exaggeration)

 

Public opinion suggests that the current situation is tantamount to an invasion of Europe. This is however an exageration given that europe itself is under populated. the real problem is fear of the unknown associated with the arrival of these migrants. I would personally not consider this as such. In 2014 for instance, approximately 280,000 people migrated into a population over 500million (EU), compare it with Lebanon with fewer than 5million population is currently supporting more than a million migrants, Jordan also under 5million is supporting over 1million (20%) of population so what exactly is the EU groaning about.  What the EU needs is actually a humanitarian border management where people could be allowed to stay even for a temporary period until things normalizes in their various countries. The question that arises is whether they would be willing to go back though. History suggests that that this will not happen because:

 

1. The Turks never went back from Germany

2. Algerians are still a sizeable proportion in France

3. The Serbians and Croats still remain in the Nordic countries

 

Potential Risks associated with Mediterranean  migration

 

 

1. Migrants get raped, tortured, and sometimes abducted for ransom even before they risk death crossing the Mediterranean

2. Many to be migrants too are handed over to criminal groups as they enter Libya

3. Above all, how sure are we that these migrants would find a decent job to d0?

 

Conclusion 

It makes little sense to risk everything to embark on this dangerous journey where one is not certain what would become of it. In ideal case economic migrant should seek alternative source to cure their economic woes than to resort to this means. It is dangerous, dehumaning, senseless and unproductive. Civil society should do more to put pressure on governments to make such journeys less enticing by providing opportunities for the youth. Above all the international community could use the AID to impact the impoverish directly the same way they make good governance a prerequisites for assessing AID.

 

Thank you for your audience