Press review of september 2016 on migration in West Africa
English
Africa’s foremost thinkers on migration to gather at ECA’s 10th African Development Forum
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says it is bringing together Africa’s foremost thinkers on migration to the 10th edition of its African Development Forum, UN agency’s flagship conference. The Forum scheduled for November 15 to17, 2016 is on the theme, “Migration and Africa’s transformation.” According to the ECA, the Forum which has become a unique platform for business, civil society and political leaders to thrash out some of the most pressing issues relating to Africa’s transformation will be jointly convened in partnership with the African Union and the African Development Bank. (Read more)
Ghana: Process to naturalise Liberian refugees begins
The Ghana Refugees Board (GRB) has initiated a process to naturalise 3,500 Liberian refugees who have expressed interest in integrating into the Ghanaian society. (Read more)
Nigeria: IOM delivers aid to 12,000 IDPs in Borno
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Nigeria, has distributed 3,000 non-food relief item (NFI) kits to internally displaced people (IDPs) in Banki, Borno, to alleviate their suffering, an official has said. The IOM’s Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Ms Enira Krdzalic, said in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday that the gesture was jointly carried out by IOM Nigeria and Cameroon. Krdzalic said the measure was part of the organisation’s “humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of families displaced by the violence in Northeast Nigeria”. (Read more)
Ghana: Two years of drudgery; the experience of a labour migrant
She was the occupant of seat Number 46E, next to mine, on flight number EK787 from Dubai to Accra. Throughout the eight-hour-and-five-minute flight, she did not speak to anyone, not even those immediately around her. She neither ate any food nor took in any drink, politely signalling her refusal to the crew anytime an offer was made. When the pilot announced that the flight had started its descent, she raised her two hands slightly up and with tears in her eyes murmured a few words. She then picked up her immigration form, which had been distributed to the passengers before the flight took off, and asked me to help her fill in her details. (Read more)
Ghanaians, African migrants cited in illegal organ trade deal
A notorious human organ smuggler in Egypt, Nouredin Atta, has revealed to Russian Today television that some illegal African immigrants including Ghanaians are selling their organs in Egypt. The shocking revelation by Nouredin shows that human organ traffickers in Egypt use prostitutes to tempt these Africans who do not have the necessary documentation and money into selling their organs for up to $100,000. (Read more)
Niger: Agadez town is meeting point for Europe-bound west African migrants
The town of Agadez in Niger is a maze of sandy streets and mud brick houses on the southern rim of the Sahara. For years it has served as a hub in the networks that smuggle people, guns, drugs and food across the desert. Thousands pay smugglers to make the dangerous journey across the Sahara to Libya. From there, they take their chances with smugglers across the Mediterranean.The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) expects migration through the Agadez region this year to reach 300,000. That’s more than double the 120,000 it estimates went through in 2015. (Read more)
Ghana: Increase public education on migration of domestic workers
Dr Kandilige Leander, a member of the Research Consortium at the Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, has said the public education on the rights of migrant domestic workers should be increased. (Read more)
Ghana: Migration affects cutural bearings – research
A research conducted by the Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, has revealed that migration leads to loss of cultural bearing. The research, under the auspices of the Migrating out of Poverty Research Programme on “Migration, Intra-Household Dynamics and Youth Aspirations in Ghana” revealed that most people who migrate and come home were unable to prepare the traditional meal and speak the local language correctly. (Read more)
The Gambia – Irregular migration: Ambassador Badjie seeks China’s support to Africa
His Excellency Dembo M. Badjie, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia to China, has appealed to Beijing to support Africa to find a lasting solution to the problem of the mass exodus of its youths to Europe in search of greener pastures. (Read more)
Ghana: NDC to employ 10,000 ‘Kayayei’
President John Dramani Mahama has promised that the next NDC administration his watch will train about 10,000 female head porters popularly known as ‘Kayayei’ for employment if he is retained after the December 7, 2016 general election. Kayayei, an ethnic Ga word, is a trade often undertaken by thousands of young female adults who migrate from the northern Ghana to cities like Accra and Kumasi. The practice has been in existence in Ghana for decades and children between ages 15 to 18 and adults 45 years and above, engage in what is described as a hand-to-mouth job. (Read more)
Ghana: Russia commit to explore cooperation in migration, fisheries, others
The second session of the Ghana/Russia Joint Commission meeting opened in Accra, with the two countries resolving to explore relations in the areas of migration, fisheries hydro-carbon, atomic energy and agriculture. (Read more)
Nigeria: Immigration rescues 11from human traffichers
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) command in Katsina state said it had rescued 11 youths trying to cross into Niger Republic through the state. The command’s Comptroller, Mr Mohammed Yaro, made this known in a news briefing in Katsina. Yaro said that the youths were rescued in Babban-Mutum forest while trying to cross the border on their way to Niger Republic and Europe. “Our intelligent officers on patrol arrested the victims one-after-the-other on the same day at different intervals inside the bush. “They came differently on commercial motorcycles and begun to walk inside the forest to find their way to Agadez, Niger Republic. (Read more)
A special gift from UK to Nigeria: promoting human rights or secrecy?
One July day the British High Commissioner to Nigeria met with the country’s minister of interior to express “delight” at a special gift from one friendly country to another. The gift, hidden away behind a locked fence in the cargo section of Lagos’s Murtala Mohammed International Airport, is a newly built “reception centre” for processing people forcibly returned to Nigeria by the UK immigration authorities. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on 13 July 2016, High Commissioner Paul Arkwright said: “Nigeria is a valued partner to the UK and we have made real progress on issues that are important to both our countries.” He called the new centre “our gift to the Nigeria Immigration Service” and claimed it would “improve the returns process for you on the ground, but more importantly, allow a dignified return of Nigerians repatriated from the UK, which is important to both our countries.” According to the Commissioner’s press release, the centre would provide a “safe, secure and weatherproof environment for processing returns, away from the public eye”. That’s the official version. (Read more)
The Gambia: Ousman Sonko in Sweden
Ousman Sonko, the longest serving Minister of the Interior (10 years), who was relieved of his post on Friday 16 September 2016, is currently in Sweden seeking permanent residence, according to Aftonbladet, a Swedish daily newspaper. “I can confirm that a person with that name has applied for a residence permit in Sweden,” said Irene Sokolow on the Migration Board’s press department. (Read more)
Nigeria: Economic Revival, Key to Reducing Human Trafficking
President Muhammadu Buhari, in New York, said that the anti-corruption campaign of his administration and the economic programme of diversification will significantly address the lack of job opportunities and deprivation that make Nigerian youths vulnerable to recruitment by human traffickers. At the residence of the United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the UN where the meeting took place, Buhari said “We are also investing more on infrastructure development, education and health for our people. When the results of our efforts become manifest, the attraction of seeking greener pastures abroad will lesson,” he declared. (Read more)
Français
Togo: Les jeunes leaders d’Afrique réfléchissent à Lomé sur les solutions à l’immigration clandestine
Le West African Young Leaders Summit (WAYLS), le sommet des jeunes leaders africains, un cadre d’échanges et de discussion de la jeunesse africaine autour des sujets préoccupants de l’heure, a été ouvert à Lomé. Placée sous le thème: “Immigration clandestine des jeunes africains”, la 2ème édition de ce sommet a rassemblé dans la capitale togolaise, plus de cent (100) jeunes leaders venus de quinze (15) pays de la Communauté Economique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. (Lire l’article)
Côte d’ivoire: Programme de Mobilité des talents, les Experts planchent sur un mémorandum d’entente à Abidjan.
Les experts des quatre pays participant au programme de mobilité des talents (TMP) planchent depuis le lundi dernier sur les mécanismes juridiques sous la direction du ministère de l’intégration africaine et des ivoiriens de l’extérieur à Abidjan et de la structure ACET. La rencontre d’Abidjan offre un cadre de négociation entre les quatre pays participants au programme TMP, à savoir le Bénin, la Côte d’ivoire, le Ghana et la Sierra Leone, qui veulent conclure un Mémorandum d’Entente pour faciliter la mobilité des compétences à travers leurs frontières dans le but d’améliorer la compétitivité et d’accélérer le développement économique. (Lire l’article)
Sénégal: Macky Sall sollicite une stabilisation de la situation des migrants
Le Sénégal souhaite une stabilisation de la situation des migrants de par le monde, y compris par le biais d’une “régularisation appropriée”, a plaidé, à New-York (Etats-Unis), le président de la République, Macky Sall. “En lieu et place d’une politique systématique de reconduction aux frontières, le Sénégal souhaite que la situation on des migrants soit stabilisée, y compris par une régularisation appropriée”, a-t-il dit dans une allocution prononcée au cours d’un débat de “haut niveau” sur la gestion des déplacements massifs de réfugiés et de migrants. (Lire l’article)
Guinée: De plus en plus de jeunes guinéens mineurs seuls au Maroc
« Les ingrédients sont là : l’envie de partir, de faire des choses, de se développer, la stigmatisation de l’Afrique, l’idéalisation de l’Europe… Et un ami qui quitte la Guinée, arrive en Europe et vous envoie des photos fantastiques par Facebook… Deux autres adolescents décident alors de partir à l’aventure. L’un parvient en Europe et l’autre pas, mais bon, quand même, ‘chacun à sa chance’, alors les autres essaient à leur tour », résume Antonia Carrión López, co-auteur de l’étude « Mineurs non accompagnés en recherche d’avenir », rendue publique lundi 19 septembre 2016. Elle raconte l’arrivée soudaine de jeunes immigrants guinéens (Guinée Conakry) au Maroc fin 2014. Le phénomène est tel qu’il a interpellé les associations d’aide aux migrants, Médecins du monde Belgique à Oujda et Caritas Maroc à Rabat, qui ont commandité le rapport. (Lire l’article)
Mali : Rapport national 2016 sur le développement humain – la migration et la lutte contre la pauvreté en ligne de mire.
Fruit de la collaboration entre des consultants sélectionnés selon leurs profils et compétences, différents services compétents de l’Etat, des universitaires et les membres de l’équipe technique de l’Observatoire du Développement Humain Durable et de la Lutte contre la Pauvreté, le Rapport 2016 renseigne également sur la problématique de la question migratoire au Mali. Il offre une analyse détaillée sur les liens entre la migration et les indicateurs de développement humain. (Lire l’article)
Sénégal: Migration et mobilité intra et interrégionale au menu d’une rencontre
Le Réseau “Migration et développement de la société civile en Afrique”(MADE Afrique) organise une rencontre régionale sur migration et mobilité intra et interrégionale en Afrique, lundi et mardi prochains, à Dakar, annonce un communiqué de presse parvenu à l’APS. La cérémonie d’ouverture aura lieu le lundi 3 octobre à 10h, à l’hôtel Fleur de Lys du Plateau, précise la même source. “Cette rencontre de deux jours présentera les opportunités et les défis des cadres pour la mobilité intra et interrégionale et discutera du rôle de la société civile pour assurer la protection des droits des migrants”, souligne la même source. (Lire l’article)