Africa: Migration Reports Show Complex Realities

analysis

"In the case of Africa, the very idea that the situation to be faced is a rapidly increasing "migration crisis" driven by a growing number of young men and women desperately trying to enter Europe denies the basic facts [such as that] the vast majority of Africans move within the continent; most Africans move for reasons of work, study and family; and most Africans living abroad are not from the poorest sections of their societies of origin." - UN Economic Commission for Africa, Situation Analysis

The images of African migrants drowning in the Mediterranean or trying to cross the barbed-wire fences between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, while anti-immigrant politicians in the European Union rant against migrant "invaders," are real. But their prominence in the news is misleading, as made clear by reports by international agencies and scholars as well as news coverage by journalists willing to take the time to explore in greater depth.

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