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Migrants sit on a naval base after being rescued by the Libyan coastguard in Tripoli, Libya. Photo: Ismail Zitouny / Reuters
It has become a cliché to say that there is no easy solution to the phenomena of immigration. Much hope, including a monument unveiled, to commemorate the successes of the EU summit in Valletta and African leaders, endless summits of the EU that lurk on the burden-sharing while avoiding attacking the real causes of this phenomenon. but the political problem that they cause.
Politicians refuse to educate our people and prefer to play on their unfounded fears of a perceived invasion, and as we build turn after turn, we claim to have no place for the little bit of people who need our help and compassion.
hairs shared between refugees and so-called economic migrants, mainly people who leave their country in the first place because of the persecution and the second because of misery and hunger. By what right do we refuse to take shelter and share the fruits of the earth that God has endowed for all humanity, choosing to close our ports and to throw these so-called problems, human lives, under the sea ?
Africa is the resource-rich continent of the world. It owns the world's largest deposits of gold, diamonds and chromium, 90% of cobalt, a mineral essential to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles manufactured by Apple, Samsung and the big car manufacturers. is extracted by eight-year-olds who are paid eight cents a day.
Africa has the potential to produce 40% of the world's hydropower, 65% of manganese, millions of acres of uncultivated farmland as well as deserts that offer limitless opportunities production of solar energy and other natural resources.
And yet, the peoples of the 41 African nations are mostly impoverished and abused people, where ethnic genocide has claimed the lives of millions of innocent civilians. We do not recognize that millions of Africans, especially Christians, are fleeing their homes for overcrowded refugee camps and smuggling routes to Europe because of the increasing religious persecution, in particular in Africa. especially in countries like Nigeria.
These people have no opportunity. The land that supplied them is plundered by the greed of corrupt politicians, government structures, and multinational corporations from Europe, the United States, China, and the rest of the world who are only interested in the fact. to the resources they can take to make phenomenal profits.
No wonder these people dream of a future elsewhere, and are looking to come to the continent where the economic benefits of African resources are appreciated, such as Europe.
Will Africa still benefit from its natural resources? The BBC posed this fundamental question in 2012, when new discoveries of coal, oil and gas in East Africa seemed to want to transform global energy markets and, according to Africans, their own. savings. Ironically, the same report quotes Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist at the World Bank: "On average, resource-rich countries have done even worse than destitute countries."
We have an obligation to these people because we are part of this unjust global economic order of which we are the beneficiaries
While the West continues to provide arms to governments that direct their countries more like authoritarian regimes, manipulating elections restrict freedom of expression, execute dissensions by dubious means, do little to stop persecution and ethnic cleansing, despite their military strength and do nothing to improve the means to of their citizens by investing in sanitation, education,
Nigeria, the continent's largest oil producer, is described by United Nations as one of the poorest countries and the world, with more than 80 million of its population living below the poverty line, that is, earning less than $ 2 a day . The same report from the BBC says that since the independence of Nigeria in 1960, the former vice president of the World Bank for Africa, Oby Ezekwesili, estimates that $ 400 billion in oil revenues were stolen.
Foreign aid is not a solution. The EU knows that if such aid is to have a positive impact, it must bypass government authorities and work with organizations closer to the field, otherwise most of the amounts end up being deposited in secret bank accounts or used to pay bribes. corrupt governments in power. There is much to be said about the lack of effective foreign aid, but suffice to say that we steal them first and then we offer charity with conditions.
I will not present myself as having all the solutions but some of the steps need to be taken should be pretty obvious to all of us. First, stop selling arms to these countries, legally or by implication. Second, severely punish multinational corporations that are granted rights of access to resources or contacts through bribery agreements.
Thirdly, the African economy must be built on the premise that African natural resources benefit mainly African peoples. Enterprises that extract or purchase these resources must pay equitable remuneration and conclude contracts in a fair and transparent manner.
Fourth, an institution like the World Bank should support the development of a country-by-country development plan focused on the creation of productive jobs, factories, infrastructure, health, education and training. Education and urgent projects. Corrupt governments must be starved, not by sanctions that hurt their peoples more, but by specific means, such as international arrest warrants for crimes against humanity such as famine, by depriving them of their rights. own people, etc. and supporting governments that work for the common good of their countries, even if we do not see anything at the beginning.
Africans crossing the Mediterranean are defenseless and not economic migrants. They are stripped of their dignity by a global economic order that stifles them in poverty and despair. Their future is in the hands of corrupt government structures, government-backed thugs like Boko Haram, multinationals solely interested in stock market movements, and short-sighted political leaders who prefer the status quo and push these people under the carpet, or under the carpet. the sea.
It is easy to say that these people should solve their problems with their own governments when democracy lets them down. We can not expect these people to rise up politically to challenge their political leaders when the powers that sell weapons to governments oppress them with force.
We have an obligation to these people because we are part of this unjust global economic order of which we are the beneficiaries. The number of boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea is only the thermometer of our failures.
Pope Francis reminds us that in the Gospel parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus, the rich man was not condemned for his wealth but for being unable to feel the compassion for Lazarus and not to help him. If we do not have a heart for these people, we are already dead.
Tonio Fenech is a former finance minister.
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