„Africa and the drama of migration“ – Pambazuka Special Issue on African perspectives on migration and freedom of movement

„Africa and the drama of migration – The migration movement towards Europe is never going to stop“. That is the title of an article by Tidiane Kassé in the latest special issue of the Pan African newsletter Pambazuka which has been published recently in English and French in cooperation with AfricAvenir International e.V.. It provides a differentiated impression of the background and causes of migration as well as the historical responsibility of Europe. nRepresentatives of civil society as well as academics give a differentiated impression of the backgrounds of migration in connections with the historical and political responsibilities of European countries. With 500 000 readers per year and several hundreds of authors, some of them world-renowned, Pambazuka News is one of the most important platforms for socio-political analysis and topics of social justice in Africa. nThere is no doubt that migration currently leads to dramatic scenarios. The German society is slowly realizing that it can no longer ignore its role in it. However, anti-migration discourses which only accept – if at all – people who are politically persecuted, fleeing war or have the luck to be highly qualified, are predominant in the debates. The authors of Pambazuka confront the one-sided discourse with more differentiated insights. They investigate the connections between the causes of migration and the globalized capitalist world economy, which undermines the livelihoods of many people in Africa, and point to the responsibility of European states (“Africa and the Drama of immigration“, „Questioning the conventional narrative of African irregular migrants“, „Ecocide in the Niger delta“). They criticize the discriminating German asylum system as well as the migration system in general, explain the historical continuities of the German camp system („Dehumanised“) and expose the specific difficulties faced by female refugees in Germany („Isolated from society“). Finally, today´s construct of nation states, passports and border systems and the restriction of the freedom of movement are put into their historical context and alternatives are offered („Borders create misconceptions“, „A short history of the passport“). nThe newsletter is a diverse collection of critical voices which take a look at the complex topic from historical, political and societal perspectives, advocating for a fundamental review and a transformation of the system. This is more than necessary, taking into account what Tidiane Kassé clearly states: The migration movement towards Europe is not going to stop.nArticles:nWe are here because you are destroying our countries – Germany is politically and economically responsible for many root causes of flight – Rex Osa (EN-FR) nGoor Yombul, ou «un homme vaut cher»- Rama Salla Dieng (FR) nCi-git la solidarité humaine- Fadel Dia (FR) nCrise migratoire, accaparement des ressources naturelles et d’insécurité dans les frontières: Quelles réponses citoyennes pour l’Afrique Forum social sénégalais – Forum social sénégalais (FR) nUne petite histoire du passeport – Aaron Scheid and Leonard Barlag (EN FR) n"L’Afrique et les drames de l’émigration : ce flot vers l’Europe qui ne tarira jamais" – Tidiane Kassé (EN FR) nDehumanised – A short history of the institutionalized deprivation of migrants’ rights in (Western) Germany – Jana M. Grieb (EN) nEcocide dans le delta du Niger : fuite et migration comme conséquences de la politique occidentale sur les matières premières – Peter Donatus (EN FR) nLes frontières créent des malentendus. Riadh Ben Ammar (EN FR) nPambazuka: Reclues de la société – Les problèmes et luttes des réfugié-e-s en Allemagne observés par une femme. Bethi Ngari (EN FR)nMettre en cause le discours conventionnel sur les migrant-e-s africain-e-s irrégulier-es Yordanos Seifu Estifanos(EN FR)nSüdlink DossiernPambazuka HomepagenProject Why we are here!?nThe newsletter was supported by Engagement Global on behalf of the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Landesstelle für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit.