Out of Africa

Giovanni Carbone The EU is struggling to cope with the so-called “migration MIGRATE PEOPLE WHY AFRICA. OF OUT crisis” that has emerged over the past few years. Designing Senior Associate Research Fel- OUT OF AFRICA the right policies to address immigration requires a deep The Italian Institute for Inter- low and Head of the Africa Pro- understanding of its root causes. Why do Africans decide gramme at ISPI, and Professor national Political Studies (ISPI) of Political Science at Università to leave their home countries? While the dream of a bet- WHY PEOPLE is an independent think tank degli Studi di Milano. He was pre- ter life in Europe is likely part of the explanation, one also dedicated to being a resource viously a Research Associate at needs to examine the prevailing living conditions in the for government officials, busi- MIGRATE ness executives, journalists, the Crisis States Programme of large and heterogeneous sub-Saharan region. This Report the London School of Econom- civil servants students and the investigates the actual role of political, economic, demo- public at large wishing to better ics (LSE) and the Principal Inves- edited by Giovanni Carbone tigator of an European Research graphic and environmental drivers in current migration understand international issues. Council (ERC) project. flows. It offers a comprehensive picture of major migration introduction by Paolo Magri It monitors geopolitical areas as motives as well as of key trends. Attention is also devoted well as major trends in international affairs. to the role of climate change in promoting migration and Founded in Milan in 1934, ISPI to intra-continental mobility (two-thirds of sub-Saharan is the only Italian Institute – and migrant flows start and end within the region). Two coun- one of the few in Europe – to try studies on Eritrea and Nigeria are also included to get place research activities side by a closer sense of local developments behind large-scale side to training, organization of international conferences, and migration to Europe. the analysis of the international environment for businesses. Comprehensive interdisciplinary analysis is achieved through close collaboration with experts (academics and non-academics alike) in political, economic, legal, historical and strategic studies and through an ever- growing network of think tanks, research centers, and Universi- ties in Europe and beyond. euro 12 Out of Africa Why People Migrate Edited by Giovanni Carbone © 2017 Ledizioni LediPublishing Via Alamanni, 11 – 20141 Milano – Italy www.ledizioni.it [email protected] Out of Africa. Why People Migrate Edited by Giovanni Carbone First edition: October 2017 Cover Photo: Giro 555 SHO/Flickr Print ISBN 9788867056699 ePub ISBN 9788867056675 Pdf ISBN 9788867056712 DOI 10.14672/67056699 ISPI. Via Clerici, 5 20121, Milano www.ispionline.it Catalogue and reprints information: www.ledizioni.it Contents Introduction.................................................................... 7 Paolo Magri 1. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Why Africans Migrate.................................................. 13 Giovanni Carbone 2. Demystifying African Migration: Trends, Destinations and Returns................................. 31 Marie-Laurence Flahaux 3. Climate Change and Migration: Insights from the Sahel................................................. 51 Sara Vigil 4. The Hidden Side of the Story: Intra-African Migration............................................... 73 Blessing U. Mberu, Estelle M. Sidze 5. Fleeing Repression: Inside Eritrea................................. 95 Nicole Hirt 6. Nigeria: Leaving Africa’s Giant..................................... 119 Aderanti Adepoju Conclusions. Policy Implications for the EU.................... 141 Annex.............................................................................. 147 The Authors..................................................................... 167 Introduction Migration from Africa commonly evokes the picture of a continent fleeing from its evils towards the European Eldorado. Such alarmist representations of an African mass exodus, fuelled by the media and policy makers alike, are actually quite far from the real dynamics of African migration. In Europe, notably in the traditional destination countries, since the 1970s migration has turned into a politicised topic, increasingly leading to more restrictive migration policies, but it is only in the past few years that it has sparked off a crisis throughout the whole continent. The EU and its member states have failed to look below the surface of migration flows as they have repeatedly preferred to turn a blind eye to their root causes. Against this backdrop, this ISPI Report investigates why some Africans decide to leave their countries and how they do it, also with a view to challenging ste- reotyped perceptions. For this purpose, the experts brought to- gether in this volume help reveal the hidden side of African migration, delving into its drivers, trends and effects. Contrary to popular perceptions, their findings suggest that, far from being exceptional, the size and destinations of African migration are impressively similar to global migratory patterns. In other words, African migrants too, when crossing an international border, are more likely to move to neighbouring countries within their African sub-region than elsewhere, because of the higher costs of moving over longer distances. Costs which may ultimately include the loss of their own lives. Actually, if something exceptional has to be found in African migration, it is the striking number of sub-Saharan countries each hosting over two million 8 Out of Africa. Why People Migrate displaced people last year: South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Nigeria. Migration is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon. Resorting to easy explanations may appear as a convenient short- cut but ultimately, twists the truth. This complexity is only very rarely reflected in the politicy choices adopted by receiving countries. By continuously placing the spotlight on border protection and on how European societies are affected by migration flows, they ultimately produce unintended effects. For instance, restrictive European migration policies have caused migrants to diver- sify their destination countries and to resort to riskier routes and irregular practices. These policies also have a negative impact on migrants’ decision to return to their home countries: even if they want to, migrants are less likely to leave Europe if they know it will be difficult to eventually come back. By the same token, the impact of Africa’s recent economic and political transformations has had a complex and – to some ex- tent – unexpected result in terms of African mobility. Contrary to popular belief, a higher level of development – rather than poverty – is a strong driver of African migration, especially over greater distances. Indeed, the spread of new technologies – especially mobile communication as a result of economic growth – as well as political stabilisation in some countries may have in- creased Africans’ capabilities and aspirations to move. However, this is just another piece of a much bigger picture. Large swathes of the continent are still rife with conflict and repression, and Africa’s growth has hardly been inclusive. And this still remains a crucial driver of migration. In a nutshell, the rationale behind African migration is much more nuanced. It requires a careful, objective analysis highlight- ing the complexity of migration dynamics and merging short- term views with long-term prospects. This is ultimately the goal of this ISPI Report. In the first chapter, Giovanni Carbone pre- sents a broad overview of the demographic, economic, political, and environmental developments of contemporary sub-Saha- ran Africa, and investigates the role these may play in migrants’ Introduction 9 decisions to leave their country. Carbone warns against seeing migration only as a response to external conditions such as global inequalities: if that were enough, many more African migrants would be on the move over long distances. Instead, personal cir- cumstances must also be taken into account, moving away from classic approaches (push-pull factors and historical-structural ac- counts), which downplay the role of personal decisions. Empirical evidence helps give a clearer picture. This goal is at the core of Marie-Laurence Flahaux’s chapter, in which she anal- yses macro and micro data on migration to debunk the myths surrounding African migration. Has the number of African migrants been on the rise? And do most of them live outside the continent? In seeking to answer these and other questions, her chapter illustrates the scale and destinations of African migration in recent decades. Her analysis reveals that migration from Africa, in proportion to the total African population, has actually slightly decreased since the 1990s and that, especially with regards to sub-Saharan migration, it has mostly been directed towards other African countries. Environmental disruptions and climate change are often portrayed by the media as drivers of migration and conflict. Drawing evidence from the Sahel, the “ground zero” for climate change because of its high geographical exposure to tragic environmental events, Sara Vigil explores the multifaceted nexus between climate change and mobility through examples of peri- odic droughts and seasonal floods. Rather than as the root

Load more