The old continent, the dark continent and the migration problem

(Baonghean.vn) - The ongoing migration crisis in Europe is one of the most pressing issues, not only limited to the national or regional scale, but also attracting the attention of the whole world. To stop the flow of people from Middle Eastern countries like Syria, many countries are trying to stabilize the situation in this unstable country. As for the black continent, the latest moves in the past week also show the EU's efforts to resolve illegal migration from Africa.

Struggling to dream of the promised land

The situation of migrants from Africa trying to reach Europe has sounded alarm bells globally. Photo: Internet.

These days, it is not difficult to come across statistics in the daily news about the number of migrants entering Europe. 1 million people in 2015 alone, and the number could be much larger in the upcoming year 2016, risking their lives on dangerous maritime journeys, in search of a safer living environment, economic security, progressive education, etc.

Looking further, in the past 10 years, according to preliminary statistics, up to 50 million people have had to leave their homeland, due to climate change, desertification and population explosion, increasing instability at home and reducing job opportunities in close neighboring countries. In the debate on the topic of migration, there are complex but rarely mentioned aspects, which is the hot spot of Africa.

At the recent ministerial meeting of the European Union (EU) and African countries held in Malta to address a phenomenon that has existed for many years and is now showing signs of getting out of control, the biggest question that troubled the delegates was how to manage the current huge number of migrants and refugees.

Sweden, one of the most generous “hosts”, has now also run out of temporary accommodation for the less fortunate, and has no choice but to protect itself and impose border controls, avoiding the kind of unrest that has happened in many other countries.

Meanwhile, in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is also facing a significant challenge in her political career as the "welcoming culture" of migrants in Europe's leading country is facing fierce opposition from many sides.

Furthermore, on November 12, President of the European Council Donald Tusk also implicitly warned that the Schengen agreement, which allows free movement between 26 EU member states, is being threatened.

As for the cause and victims of the current situation - the migrants, they are also in a much more difficult position: their lives are threatened when trying to cross the border by sea, many long days walking from one country to another, trying in vain to catch the express train that will take them to the promised land, even though many times at the destination everything happens completely opposite to their expectations.

Finding solutions for Africa

EU and African leaders at a summit in Valletta, Malta, to discuss the migration crisis on November 11-12. Photo: Internet.

The EU-Africa summit, taking place in such a context, more or less reminds us that the difficult problem of refugees and migration that Europe is struggling to find a solution for is not simply limited to the causes of crises and wars in the Middle East. In other words, Africa also plays an equally important role.

Objectively speaking, the policies that have been applied so far have not brought about the expected results. One negotiation after another multilateral summit has only made the situation worse, as evidenced by the barbed wire fences that have been erected more and more densely throughout Southeast Europe, the frequency of patrols in the seas has increased, the weather has turned cold, the seas are rough, but the progress of the migrants has not shown any signs of slowing down, they have even found new routes to achieve their goals.

Despite the complexity, the talks in Valletta on 11 November did not yield much. The Guardian even commented that the proposals at this summit were extremely poor: more money to support Africa’s efforts to deal with the migration crisis, and speeding up the repatriation of those whose asylum claims have been rejected.

In this news site’s view, neither proposal seems likely to produce results that are any different from previous attempts. For example, Spain tried to deal with a large-scale migration from West Africa to the Canary Islands in 2006, deporting many people who immediately tried to cross the border to Libya. Closing the Libyan border, they “hitched a ride” to Türkiye to head to Greece.

Where there is demand, there will be supply, and the migration crisis has inadvertently become a breeding ground for transnational crime, requiring urgent action to address the current human trafficking problem. Solutions to Africa’s governance and development issues are being developed, but they take time and are not necessarily successful. Moreover, the downside of economic growth for the continent may occur when people have the means to save money and prepare for their “dream” trip to Europe.

A little-spoken but widely understood truth is that we cannot stop illegal migration without the existence of legal migration channels. This is what Africa wants, but EU leaders are reluctant to act, fearful of the political consequences.

However, the migration from Africa comes from different causes than the Middle East, including Syria, so the EU should change its attitude and have appropriate mechanisms for legal migration from Africa, such as through quotas or visa lotteries like the US has applied. After all, Europe is also in dire need of young and eager migrants to supplement its aging population.

Thu Giang