SOME are calling it payback time for Europe’s role in colonising Africa, some are attributing the current wave of migration from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe to poverty and unequal distribution of wealth, while others are arguing that African leaders are to blame for the current wave of young Africans leaving their countries because they have no future in Africa.
This week a United Nations (UN) top official to Africa, Carlos Lopes, wrote something on his blog (according to BBC News Africa), in which he asks if the coming of Africans to Europe could be ‘payback time’ for the “plundering of (Africa’s) natural resources and unfair international treatment.”
He also argues that British people are migrating to Australia on a daily basis, same as Italians to Argentina, yet no headlines are made out of it.
For the past few weeks, most European news channels are dominated by the news of migrants or refugees, fleeing war-torn Syria and Afghanistan, and some fleeing poverty in Sub-Saharan African countries, who are overwhelming European borders because they want a ‘safe place’ to live.
This is running under the news heading ‘Destination Europe’.
Recently Sky News reported of thousands of mostly Syrian migrants who are demonstrating in Budapest because they have been stopped from boarding a train to Germany.
A few weeks ago, the news on migration were dominated by Sub-Saharan migrants taking the risk to cross the Mediterranean and some camped at the port of Calais, who all want to go to Britain.
But the deaths of scores of migrants is not a deterrence; they are not bothered, as soon as one boat is rescued or capsize, another one will just arrive.
A few days ago, an air-tight (no air-vents) lorry was found abandoned on an Austrian motorway.
There were 71 dead bodies of migrants, who were trying to reach Austria and maybe Germany as well.
The bodies included eight women, three children and a baby.
In another incident, also last week, 51 bodies of migrants were found in the hull of a smugglers’ boat off a Libyan coast.
Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, says this year alone, more than 300 000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean into Europe and about 2 500 have died during these dangerous journeys.
But amid all this, many more people are coming every day.
The people who are benefiting from all this are the traffickers, some of them Europeans.
So what is really happening?
Meanwhile, while many people are blaming Europe and the US’ controversial policies for causing wars which create refugees, it’s a question of what comes first, the chick or the egg.
But European leaders don’t think Europe is to blame for the creation of refugees.
Some are blaming governance and human rights issues in countries where migrants are coming from.
The UN says most of the migrants are coming from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
“The EU cannot and should not be blamed for the migration crisis, but we need to do more at European level to solve it,” the European Council President Donald Tusk, was quoted on Monday.
“We have to alleviate the unbearable human suffering and tragedies that have become almost daily news stories in Europe now.
“The truth is that this is a very complex problem and requires a complex set of actions.
“There are no quick-fixes.”
Is Carlos Lopes right to suggest it could be Europe’s payback time?
I took the following comments from a BBC Africa post (Carlos Lopes’ thread). After reading most of the comments, one is persuaded to believe that migration is one thing that Europeans will have to put up with.
Priscilla Kalumo: “These Europeans are funny.
“Why are they complaining?
“When they flocked to Africa, Australia, and Latin America, the indigenous population tried to resist, but they bulldozed their way in.
“Let them accept what they imposed on others as the norm.”
Enya Ndoma: “When you hide behind and pour sand into your neighbour’s soup, what do you expect?
“Even though I am not in support of this migrant stuff because it only helps in emasculating true evolution of the African mind, I think Europe deserves what they’re getting.
“They should pause a while and think of the years of slavery, looting, maiming, sabotage, colonisation, neo-colonisation, unfair policies.”
Nicole Benros (Denmark): “Not only is it human nature to migrate – it is natural law for any species!
“Having pointed this out – we must also communicate intelligently.
“Not confuse migration with refuge – and we must understand that refuge is not illegal, it is a human right!”
Henson King (Liberia): “Answers to the fundamental questions of why people migrate in the first place is key acceptance of this age-old facet of unchangeable humans and animals behaviour.
“Both the Bible and Quran speak of human migration.
“The Vikings migrated and so did many other peoples including the English to North America and do you know why?
“Read your books people.
“As long as those same reasons still exist, migration will continue as an inevitable reality of human existence and no amount of negative branding or restrictions will stop it.
“If it was ok for Western nations to leave their lands for the plundering and partitioning of Africa, it’s equally ok to follow their trail.”
Tee Lebbie (Sierra Leone): “Share your riches with the poor before they share their poverty with you.” – Joseph Hill.
The rich nations have not done enough to help upgrade the economic status of the African countries they’ve ravaged for decades, now the people from those countries are going to take theirs.
“It’s payback time.
“The rich nations failed to share their riches with the poorer ones, the poor are now sharing their poverty with them.
“No complaints please.”
Anna-Lena Dockberg (Sweden): “This kind of argumentation is leading nowhere.
“To my knowledge, my country Sweden, never plundered any African state.”