Eritreans on a bus on the road between Keren and Agordat in Eritrea. Eye Ubiquitous/UIG via Getty Images FOR YEARS, ERITREANS fleeing their homeland have known that, even if they make it to Libya, they will be kidnapped and ransomed. The extortion is systematic. Since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi, the southeast of Libya has been under the partial control of the Tubu tribe, which has established a successful cross-border trade in goods, drugs and people. Kidnappers in this region are … [Read more...]
Interview for France 24 -RFI : EU divisions impede better planning for migrants and refugees by Mike Woods
Migrants with their belongings stand in line as French police evacuate makeshift camps in Paris, France, 30 May 2018.Reuters/Benoit Tessier European Union members remained divided on Tuesday over how to welcome and share burdens for arriving migrants and refugees in a sign that political divisions will continue to define debates over the issue. While people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are still making the dangerous journey by land and … [Read more...]
Libya is not Turkey: why the EU plan to stop Mediterranean migration is a human rights concern
EU leaders have agreed to a plan that will provide Libya’s UN-backed government €200 million for dealing with migration. This includes an increase in funding for the Libyan coastguard, with an overall aim to stop migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean to Italy. Based on the perceived policy success of the 2016 EU-Turkey deal on stopping migrant boats reaching Greece from the west coast of Turkey, known as the eastern Mediterranean route, this deal is intended to have a similar effect on the … [Read more...]
EuroNews Opinions Piece on Migrants in Greece and Turkey
In order to stem the flow of migrants crossing into Europe, the EU signed a deal with Turkey that aims to return migrants without an asylum claim to Turkey. Recently, EU leaders met in Malta and agreed to a new deal with Libya aimed at curtailing the flow of migrants from Libya to Italy. The EU-Turkey deal has been viewed as successful from a policy standpoint in that it has effectively reduced the number of boats crossing from Turkey to Greece. Yet, it is important for us to reflect on why … [Read more...]
Why Don’t Refugees Just Stay in Turkey or Greece? We asked them
Here is a post co-authored with Khalid Koser for the Conversation (re-posted here). It has also been reposted to Time, World Economic Forum, and the Huffington Post. Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters The European Commission has decided to start returning migrants from other European countries back to Greece, lifting a ban on the practice that was put in place in 2011. The decision is influenced by concerns that 13,000 migrants recently disappeared from camps in Northern … [Read more...]