http://time.com/4504048/refugees-migrants-ethiopia-europe-jobs/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29
Why More Jobs in Ethiopia Could Mean Fewer Refugees in Europe
Aryn Baker _at_arynebaker
Sept. 22, 2016
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The U.K., E.U. and World Bank are working with Ethiopia to create
jobs, and in the process stem migrant flows to Europe
According to the International Organization for Migration, Eritreans
and Somalis make up some of the largest numbers of African refugees
who have attempted to reach Europe by rubber boat and overloaded
dinghy over the past two years. But most of them are not coming
straight from their despotic and war-torn countries. They usually
start their journeys in the vast refugee camps of Ethiopia, where
conditions are wretched and opportunities scarce. The refugees might
be safe from conflict and persecution, but few see the camps as a
viable alternative to living in war, famine or under an oppressive
dictatorship like Eritrea’s. So they leave in desperate search of
something better in Europe.
Which is why the recently announced plan by Britain, the European
Union and the World Bank to build a industrial parks and create
100,000 jobs in Ethiopia is one of the first promising moves in a long
litany of half-hearted attempts to deal with Europe’s migration
crisis. The plan, which was initially proposed by the Ethiopian
government, calls for two industrial parks to be built at a cost of
$500 million. In exchange, Ethiopia, which currently hosts 700,000
refugees mostly from Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan, is required to
grant employment rights to 30,000 asylum seekers. Many of the jobs at
the new industrial parks will be reserved for citizens of Ethiopia,
which is facing its own unemployment crisis, and has also seen many of
its own nationals attempt the same dangerous routes to Europe.
In making the announcement at the U.N. summit on refugees in New York
City on Sept. 21, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said the project
would be a model of support for other poor countries hosting large
refugee populations. Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, who are home to 4.5
million Syrian refugees, and Kenya, which hosts more than 500,000
refugees from Somalia and South Sudan could greatly benefit from
similar deals.
Giving people opportunities at home, whether they are refugees or
citizens, is an important first step towards stemming the illegal, and
dangerous, trafficking of migrants into Europe. But it isn’t the only
one. No matter how many jobs are created, there will always be people
who want to migrate, whether to start a new life, see something new,
or rejoin family. And Europe, which is facing a demographic crisis as
its own population numbers decline, will need those migrants to
flourish. So while creating jobs in Ethiopia, and elsewhere, is
essential for decreasing the outward flow of job seekers, destination
countries will still have to create legal, and safe, channels for
those they need, and those who are going to come anyway.
Received on Mon Sep 26 2016 - 09:46:15 EDT