Mohamed Yahya Monday 7 September 2015
Africa is crying out for more financial support, to tackle the conflict, poverty and instability that drives people like Bashi*, from Somalia, to flee
Internally displaced Somalis at Badbaado refugee camp in Mogadishu. As Africa’s population grows, the number of people escaping conflict in countries like Somalia will continue to rise. Photograph: Mustafa Abdi/AFP/Getty
Global development is supported by:
The next time you read the news reports from Sicily and Calais and Greece, I hope you will remember Bashi*, one young African man among many currently in a migrants’ camp in Europe.
I first met Bashi in 2011 at my mother’s house in Kenya. As he grilled me about my work with the United Nations, it was immediately apparent that he was self-assured and articulate. As I got to know him better, I never thought that he would join the young Africans undertaking perilous journeys to seek new starts in faraway lands.
Bashi’s story begins in Somalia: aged 14, he crossed the border into northern Kenya to get away from an intensifying conflict. He ended up in Dadaab, one of the largest refugee camps in Africa, living alongside more than 350,000 people.
After a couple of years, Bashi made another audacious journey, this time to the capital, Nairobi, to seek work and education. It is illegal under Kenyan law for refugees to leave the camp, but Bashi “camouflaged” himself in the predominantly Somali neighbourhood Eastleigh. He became a waiter by day, and a student by night, keen to ensure that the circumstances of his birth did not imprison his future.
2014 was a good year for Bashi. He opened his own small shop, selling clothes and “advancing fashion in Nairobi”, as he put it. Bashi was christened the hipster of Eastleigh because of his fondness for tight jeans, oversized glasses and other trendy paraphernalia.
But when I met him again that year, it was clear Bashi was concerned about his future; things had changed for Somalis in Kenya since the intensification of al-Shabaab activities. He worried he could lose his business and be deported. He seemed subdued, but maintained his entrepreneurial zeal.
Last month when I was back in Kenya, I asked around for news of Bashi. I received a text message with a picture of the front page of an Italian newspaper, showing a well-dressed young man carrying a Syrian baby. It was Bashi, on the Greek island of Lesbos.
I learnt that Bashi had left Kenya in July, having saved $4,500 for his voyage. He chose Sweden because he had heard it is a place of tolerance, opportunity and open access to education. He also has distant relatives there.
The first leg of the journey was from Kenya to Iran, and for this Bashi paid $1,600 to a “broker”. A series of brokers, essentially smugglers, took Bashi through different segments of his journey.
Bashi’s journey – from Kenya to Iran, then to Turkey and Greece all the way through to Austria. Click here for a larger version of the map. Photograph: UNDP Africa
During his voyage, Bashi met Syrians, Afghans, Sudanese and Eritreans, all united in their refusal to accept life as dictated by geography and circumstance. They shared meals, walked over mountains and evaded border guards together.
Bashi walked 23 hours to the Turkish border, then travelled to Istanbul, and from there to Greece, where the picture I saw was taken. In Athens, another broker facilitated travel through Macedonia, into Serbia.
In Belgrade, Bashi ran out of money. He called on his network of friends, who sent the €1,400 ($1,550) he needed to get to Vienna. There, he was stopped on his way to Germany and was sent to a “holding camp” in Salzburg, where he remains.
Bashi’s story is little different from the stories of millions of Europeans who migrated to the United States in the 19th century. Those Europeans, just like the migrants of today, were escaping poverty, discrimination and conflict. Bashi, like the majority of those people, will most certainly contribute significantly to any nation that will give him asylum.
As Africa’s population continues to grow, the number of people crossing deserts and seas will continue to rise. Responses have focused primarily on enforcement, but it is clear barriers and barbed wire will not deter people who are prepared to risk their lives.
In the short term, there is no escaping the tough decisions required to absorb and integrate a significant number of the people who have already arrived in Europe, and who cannot be repatriated to countries in conflict.
Contrary to some popular narratives, the Bashis of this world are not motivated by the European welfare state; they are attracted by peace, opportunities for development, employment and a legal system that promises equality and protection.
African countries must break their silence and ask why their young people feel compelled to leave. Making the continent politically and economically attractive for young people must be a priority response. African bodies, such as the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (Igad) are aware of this challenge, and are looking for support, but this is a long-term project.
Another positive move could be to ease restrictions for asylum seekers and economic migrants within African borders. Africa already hosts the largest proportion of African migrants, but often they struggle to gain citizenship or the right to work legally.
The international community must act in unison and redouble efforts to address the root drivers of migration: poverty, conflict, and lack of opportunity.
In an increasingly unequal and unpredictable world, the dispossessed refuse to suffer quietly. If their actions do not elicit increased investment in development, conflict prevention and global solidarity, then the current crises will simply herald a bigger exodus to come.
- Mohamed Yahya is Africa regional programme coordinator for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
*Bashi is a nickname, the use of which is common in Somalia
