African Immigration

Last Autumn we heard news about African immigrants being killed in Spanish enclaves in Morocco while trying to reach European soil. Later these migrants were expelled to desert without food nor water. Since December, these mostly Sub-Saharan African immigrants have changed their departure point from Morocco to Mauritania after EU pressured Morocco to tighten it's border control. Red Cross estimates that more than 1,000 people have died, since the beginning of this year, trying to enter "Fortress Europe". During the last week there was atleast 25 deaths.

Escaping poverty, hunger, wars, political persecution and unemployment these immigrants try to reach "the land of milk and honey". Unfortunately Europe doesn't seem to stand up for it's reputation. During the riots of France last Autumn, a young French guy said: "When you're an immigrant here, you're just stuck in your shit. Does it really surprise you it's going up in flames?"

If you're well educated and in this sence well of, you're welcome to Europe. To others Europe would rather say "bye, bye". This seems to be the idea of European immigration policy. Politicians want to get rid of immigrants with irregular status eventhough the aging Europe needs them.

When Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie, executive director of the African Foundation for Development was asked what would happen if U.K. would send all of it's illegal/irregular immigrants back home, he said: "The National Health Service will close tomorrow, you will not be able to get healthcare, many schools likewise, you wouldn't be able to move from point A to point B in mini-cab because of transportation, you wouldn't get offices cleaned...Basically London would stop. The government knows this. Fundamentally policy makers know that their economies are dependent on migrants with an irregular status. But of course it is politically sensitive."

Be amased with the following hypocricy. Excerpts from an Al-Ahram article about European Union summit meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2003:

...Europe's working population is dwindling fast, and several European governments have become acutely aware of that problem. But, there is growing apprehension in Europe about the African immigrants. The European leaders in Thessaloniki contemplated deporting illegal immigrants to transit camps outside Europe. Italy's extreme right-wing Northern League leader Umberto Bossi, even had the audacity to suggest that the Italian navy use cannons to prevent African migrants from reaching Italian shores...

...There are grave concerns in Africa about the brain drain which threatens to ruin African economies. The better educated and skilled sections of the African work-force are seeking more attractive employment opportunities in Europe and North America...In Ghana it was recently revealed that more than 200 nurses, trained at the taxpayers' expense, left the country in the first two weeks of 2003...

...European countries are actively encouraging this mass exodus of skilled African workers and professionals. The public health authorities in the Dutch city of Amsterdam has recruited over 350 Ghanaian nurses over the past two years alone.

In 2005, Spain legalised thousands of immigrants' status, inorder for them to work more safely and get atleast the minimum wage (picking those tomatoes and cucumbers for the rest of us). In other EU countries this legalisation was disliked as they think Spain "leaks" too much already without this message to immigrants trying to reach Europe.

I can't remember which countries disapproved the Spanish move the most, maybe Italy, Austria, Belgium, Germany or Switzerland? All countries from which immigrants have been deported with deadly measures.

Amnesty International issued a stinging report last year accusing Italian authorities of beating immigrants, giving them sedatives and gagging them during expulsion -- raising the risk of asphyxiation.

Amnesty said gagging had led to accidental deaths in countries including Austria, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, and had been prohibited by the Council of Europe.

"The evidence we saw showed that law enforcement officers used force which is both unlawful and disproportionate, including lethal weapons. They injured and killed people trying to cross the fence. Many of those seriously injured inside Spanish territory were pushed back through fence doors without any legal formality or medical assistance,"

"The present dire situation in North Africa, where people trying to gain entry to EU territory are reportedly being shot dead, or even dumped in the desert without food or water, relates directly to pressure exerted by EU countries to strengthen fortress Europe,...

..."Shamefully, EU Member States are shifting the burden of refugee protection to other countries which may be ill-equipped to deal with the ever increasing numbers of displaced people. In the process, international commitments to humane treatment and the principle of 'non-refoulement' are being violated. The overall effect is not only to strain the EU’s own credibility, but to threaten the very integrity of the international refugee protection system."

African Immigration to Europe