Agadez was once a picturesque desert town in northern Niger. Today it is a transit point for people from all over West Africa who want to go to Europe. For about 20 years, the people of Agadez lived well with the migrants.
“We have no problem with the refugee crisis,” says Issouf Ag Maha, a mayor of the Agadez region. “This only affects Europe. Of course, migrants come through our city. But that pleases the residents here. The migrants are about like tourists who spend their money. There are people who receive the refugees, who lead them around, who they live with and who cook for them.”
Just over a year ago, the Niger government declared the business of people smuggling to the north illegal – under pressure from Europe. Instead, the smugglers should use EU money to open up new professions.
Hadja Alzouma earned well as a smuggler. After the ban, he ended up in prison for six months. After that, he wanted to become a farmer with the aid money. So far, nothing has come of it. “I know that Europe has provided a lot of money, but we have not received anything. I only heard it on the radio,” Alzouma says. “I will probably work as a smuggler again soon. I’d rather be arrested than watch my children die of hunger.”
Alzouma’s expectations for the EU-Africa Summit are low. At the very least, the heads of state should think about how he should feed his family in the future, he thinks.
“Economic Wonderland” Ethiopia
Ethiopia is still one of the poorest countries in the world, but the economy is growing strongly. In the summer, Ethiopia’s ambitious government inaugurated an ultra-modern industrial park, created with Chinese help. Here, high-quality textile products are also produced for the European market. More than 60,000 people are expected to find work in Hawassa by the end of 2018.
20-year-old Lemlem Mussie already works for one of the textile manufacturers in the industrial park – with 700 others. The young woman comes from the country and had to learn how a sewing machine works. Now she sits in a huge hall six days a week and sews clothes together.
Her hopes when she got the job were high. “I’m fine, but the salary I get doesn’t match the hard work we do,” she says. “It’s not enough to live, let alone support our families.” Lemlem Mussie earns about 50 US dollars a month, overtime is expected without extra money.
“Production costs in Ethiopia are lowest,” says Epic Group manager Chandana Lokuge. He is from Singapore. “In Sri Lanka, salaries are about 200 dollars a month, and in China they have also risen. In Bangladesh, they range from 100 to 200 dollars. And in Ethiopia around 50 dollars. This makes Ethiopia interesting for investors.”
People like Lemlem Mussie and her friends have no other chance, because there is no work in the country in Ethiopia. “I hope I can learn so much here that I get a job somewhere else,” she says. “My family counts on me.”
Lemlem Mussie does not know that African and European heads of state are discussing the future of youth on the continent in distant Abidjan. But she knows that many of her compatriots are going to Europe. “I thought about it,” she says. “But when I heard that there are so many problems along the way and that so many are suffering, I decided to stay here.”
Like most of her peers on the African continent, she hopes that something will change for the better in her own country. The industrial park in Hawassa may be a start, even if young women like Lemlem Mussie are not yet able to build on it.
The end of the Malian dream of Europe
An unassuming building on a dusty street in Mali’s capital Bamako. Those who seek refuge here have been expelled from Europe or Libya. There are many. The Association Malienne des Expulsés, the association of deportees, accepts the stranded refugees.
Just like the student Tierno Diallo from Guinea. He may be 16, 17 years old. The chairman of the association, Amadou Coulibaly, simply listens. “On the very first day in Libya, we were beaten by the smugglers,” Says Tierno Diallo in a soft voice. “At night they locked us up.”
He fled for the same reason as most: to make money. His father is dead, his mother in his home village. He lived with an aunt in the city. Tierno Diallo sold his mobile phone in order to be able to set off with the proceeds. The boy does not know what will happen to him now. It is still a long way to get back to Guinea from Bamako.
“You can’t just bring these people back and leave them to yourself. You have to take care of them. But this has to happen on the ground in their villages,” says Amadou Coulibaly. He has long cared for failed refugees. So far, in his eyes, little has changed in the circumstances of migration.
Accordingly, he is now looking skeptically at Abidjan. “I do not expect much from this EU-Africa Summit. There were so many summits. In Valletta, Malta, they also promised this and that, but what happened? Nothing. Tomorrow, the next migrants will set off. That’s the way it is.’ The only thing that would stop migration to Europe, Coulibaly is convinced, is many jobs in the African home countries. That would be the chance of a better life.
