This Wednesday a high-level political meeting was held in Libya to discuss the problem of illegal immigration from both African and European perspectives. There is no way discussion on the topic can be avoided anymore. Europe has indeed turned into the land of opportunity to countless poor. Despite the dangers of illegal immigration thousands are willing to try. Many are easy prey to smugglers who never intended to help them in the first place. People literally starve or freeze to death, as victims of modern day slavery.
Lately and increasingly Libya has become part of the problem. Authorities in that country were not ready for immigrants, who try to reach Europe through Libya. New trafficking networks are increasingly concentrating on Italy. Now then this first conference including both European and African leaders tried to address both the issue of immigration but also the poverty, as its main reason.
Despite the talks, that is what remains, only talks. No one has an easy solution to a problem that in my mind includes also Europe's falling birth rates. If almost zero children are being born in many countries, immigration will be the only eventual long-term answer to a massive labor shortage among other things. But it is far from being a problem free answer, on the contrary, its problems are many and well-known.
For a long time a kind of denial and silence has been the European answer when in fact measures would urgently have been needed. Not anymore.
But what will Europe do?
posted by Emilia.kk @ 3:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home