Over the past several years Europe has been struggling to deal with illegal migration out of Africa. Each year, tens of thousands of migrants, many from the sub-Saharan region, have been heading north hoping to reach the shores of Europe and a new life.
For the past month reports have been coming in from all over Africa suggesting that this year is going to be different, much different. Migrants in record numbers are said to have massed in northern Africa, waiting for an opportunity to get out.
Libya is reported to be inundated with two million migrants, at least half of whom hope to make their way to the UK. Now Yemen is pleading for international aid to help with legal and illegal migrants it claims have reached 800,000, many of them who have fled for their lives from wartorn homelands.
Mass migration has been forecast for some time and is expected to continue as wars spread and climate change and desertification make parts of southern African uninhabitable. This is going to present a huge challenge for the European Union countries which are examining their options, few of them very pleasant.
3 comments:
this will affect all of us. In 2002, I believe it was, the RCMP made a report on the impacts of climate change on Canada as it will concern RCMP changes, and "climate refugees" was part of their concerns.
Countries heavily affected aren't just going to sit there and say - gee! are they ever lucky over there in Canada! as they starve and fight for land.
Both the Pentagon and the Brit MoD have issued studies on the security threats arising out of global warming. I think both can still be found on the 'net in PDF. Canada is luckier than most in terms of Third World migrants if only because we're the most removed. The US acts as a migrant buffer from the south.
Some speculate that the US may be the source of Canada's migrant issues, especially if multi-year drought persists in the southern states.
There are already calls from the south for diversion of water from the Great Lakes to ease their water woes.
Make sure to check out BBC Radio 4, they are airing this week a wicked good documentary about African migration to Europe. I heard it and it was excellent, if not very sadenning.It's called desperate dreams, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/pip/3sdkv/
Have a listen.
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