Globalization as an environment favourable to the flow of people and goods which reflect an essential interdependence in international relations, is a factor of growth whose repercussions contribute as best they can to the improvement of the living conditions of populations around the world.
It is not possible to evolve in self-sufficiency. Even States considered to be the most closed in the world have allies with whom they maintain profitable relations on several levels. Each individual, like each State, enjoys an autonomy which has nothing to do with unproductive self-isolation.
Immigration: between legality and clandestinity
Closing borders or refusing to welcome illegal immigrants is a way of saying no to non-compliance with the rules defined by a Territory. Although certain measures are harsh to the point of denoting a lack of humanism towards people affected by disasters or seeking a better future elsewhere, their aim is to dissuade those who choose to go abroad using illegal routes. Tunisian head of State Kais Saied particularly, incurred the wrath of several sub-Saharan African leaders by declaring on Friday May 19, 2023 on the occasion of the Arab League summit in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), that he does not want his country to be a land of reception or transit for illegal immigrants because according to him, this operation for displaced persons would be supervised by human and organ trafficking networks whose aim is to enrich some people and destabilize his country (source africanews). On Tuesday May 24, 2022, Greece declared that it would no longer allow the illegal entry of immigrants by land and sea into its Territory following a sharp increase in entry attempts through its sea islands and its border land with Turkey (source Reuters.com). These reactions among several, are proof that the phenomenon of illegal immigration is worrying, and requires additional and practical palliative measures so that the socio-economic problems of a given Territory do not transit to another to the point of arousing animosity. it is in this perspective of solving a global problem which requires additional efforts from each State, that after having expressed its intransigent migration policy by refusing to welcome into its Territory refugees picked up by rescue boats on November 8 2022, which Italy, through its Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, has called on at the occasion of an international conference on migration in Rome July 23, 2023, for a more egalitarian relationship between Europe and the countries of origin illegal immigrants in order to reduce or even stop illegal migratory flows through four measures, namely: fighting criminal organizations, better managing migrant flows, supporting refugees, and helping countries of origin (source Apnews.com).
The West: a very attractive geographical space
Developed countries are those which attract the most people and Africans in particular. The best schools are located there as are the best job opportunities. But does this mean that there are no opportunities elsewhere and in French-speaking Africa in particular? No way! It quite simply turns out that modernization has established facilities which allow each individual, whatever their country or continent of origin, to achieve their potential elsewhere under well-defined conditions. Today many Africans live outside the continent and are in compliance with the requirements of their host country thanks to the fruits of the good relations that their countries maintain with foreign powers. Some even have dual nationality and, just like those who do not have this privilege, contribute to the development of their second homeland for some, or their host country for others, while financially helping their loved ones who are in their country of origin.
On the educational level which is the basis of all development, the reason for the delay of French-speaking Africa in particular compared to Western countries, is its educational system inherited from a centralized colonial past and unfavourable to a spirit of entrepreneurship. A patriarchal system where everything is expected from central power and where working in the public sector is everyone's goal. A system that has helped several high-ranking officials or not to accumulate wealth that has no legal traceability. But African leaders have already realized the mediocrity of such a system. The programs are more focused on professionalization and entrepreneurship to meet the demands of the job market. The world needs qualified human resources. A large company, for example, will prefer to set up in Asia rather than in Africa not only because there is an abundant workforce, but above all a qualified workforce. No one wants to invest where there are no qualifications and this is the reason why in Africa, teaching tries as best it can to move towards a skills-based approach which for us, consists of creating vocations for careers at the level of basic education and secondary, through a practical valorisation of the different types of specialization or know-how, so that at higher education or not, the learner or student is more aware that these are their practical skills in addition to their theoretical knowledge which will make it easier for him to get a job.
When immigration becomes a necessity
States establish partnerships with each other because they are aware of not being able to solve all their problems without external help. Every country has development problems. If for sub-Saharan African countries it may be a matter of exploitation or rational management of its natural resources, for a European country and an emerging country it may be a matter of finding a way to repatriate the more capital or natural resources from exploitation. A Chinese person who settles in Africa, for example, does not only do so because he has the means to create an income-generating activity for himself and certain Africans, but above all because he has development concerns at home, and because the government of his country encourages him to do so.
An African who decides to go to Europe illegally by taking the route of the desert and that of the sea, sets out at the risk of his life in search of a job that the conditions do not allow him to have in his country. If there are more favourable environments than others, this does not mean that we should not respect the limits prescribed by States. The objective of improving the conditions of our existence does not justify the poor quality of the means used to achieve it.
Not everyone is called to achieve their potential abroad. The proof, the number of lives lost which continue to grow in the desert and the sea; a study by Oxfam (a non-governmental organization which campaigns for the end of poverty and injustices in the world), dating from 2015, reports an estimate between 80,000 and 150,000, the number of people who would have lost their lives crossing the desert area of North-East Niger; and according to the United Nations (UN), in 2021, 3,000 migrants would have lost their lives at sea, trying to reach Europe; Hence the need to find a way to try to dissuade Africans from attempting a European adventure which could cost them their lives. A solution which should necessarily involve dismantling all illegal trafficking networks in the world and increasing the value of the opportunities offered by legal and accessible travel even for people of modest means. The choice to set out in search of a better tomorrow by taking a perilous path is also an alternative path chosen by those who have not been able to obtain legal authorization, or who know that embassies will not grant them visas because they do not meet the necessary conditions to live decently in Europe. The failure of a legal process should not or no longer constitute a valid reason to justify borderline suicidal options.
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