A new report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) interviewed 1,970 migrants from 39 African countries living in 13 European countries. The aim was to shed light on why people migrate through irregular channels and what they experience when they do.
Entitled 'Climbing Walls: Voices of irregular African migrants to Europe', the document was produced to fill gaps in the global database and show a clearer picture of why irregular migrants move from Africa to Europe.
This is the second in a series of UNDP reports documenting the journeys of young African women and men. The first explored what drives some migrants into the arms of violent extremism.
The irregular migrants who made the arduous journey from Africa to Europe would do it again, despite being aware of the dangers of the journey.
Some 93% of the almost 2,000 irregular migrants interviewed faced dangers on their journey, but only 2% said that greater knowledge of the risks would lead them to stay at home.
These and other findings emerge from a landmark report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Entitled Climbing Walls: Voices of irregular African migrants to Europe, the document was produced to fill gaps in the global database and show a clearer picture of why irregular migrants move from Africa to Europe.
Challenging common assumptions about irregular migration
The report, which interviewed 1,970 migrants from 39 African countries in 13 European countries - all of whom said they had arrived in Europe by irregular means and not for asylum or protection reasons - challenges common assumptions about irregular migration from Africa to Europe.
The report concludes that getting a job was not the only motivation for moving and that not all irregular migrants were considered poor in Africa or had lower levels of education.
58% of them were employed or in school at the time of departure, and the majority of those who were working earned competitive salaries. Even so, around 50% of those who were working said they were not earning enough. In fact, for two thirds of those interviewed, earning or the prospect of earning in their countries of origin did not prevent them from migrating.
The interviewees also spent at least three years longer in the education system than their peers in their home countries.
"Climbing Walls highlights that migration is a reflection of development progress across Africa, albeit progress that is uneven and not fast enough to meet everyone's aspirations," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner pointed out.
According to him, lack of choice or "barriers to opportunities emerge from this study as critical factors" in the migration scenario of these young people.
"By shedding light on why people migrate through irregular channels and what they experience when they do, 'Climbing Walls' contributes to a critical debate on the role of human mobility in promoting progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," Steiner added.
Financial support for families and Equal pay for men and women
The apparent shame of not fulfilling their "mission" to send funds back to families and communities emerged as a major factor preventing respondents from returning, with 53% of them receiving at least some kind of financial support from their families and friends to meet the costs of the journey.
Once in Europe, of those who received a salary, the vast majority (78%) were sending money back. Respondents who were paid in Europe were, on average, sending back a third of their monthly income - which, however, represents 85% of their total monthly income in their home countries.
The report also found that the experience of being in Europe is different for men and women: the wage gap between men and women in Africa is deeply reversed in Europe, with women earning 11% more than them - and in contrast to them previously being paid 26% less in Africa. A higher proportion of women were also sending money back, even among those who were not being paid.
However, gender differences were also apparent in experiences of crime, with a slightly higher proportion of women being victims of a crime in the six months prior to the interview than men, and suffering significantly more sexual assault.
Climbing Walls: Voices of irregular African migrants to Europe
'Climbing Walls' is a call to continue expanding opportunities and choices in Africa while moving from 'ungoverned' to 'governed' migration, according to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
This is the second in a series of UNDP reports documenting the journeys of young African women and men. The first report in the series explored what drives some migrants into the arms of violent extremism.
The voices of irregular migrants
Below are some of the statements obtained in the formulation of the report.
"If you have a family, you have to make sure they have food, shelter, medicine and an education. I have a young daughter. People might ask what kind of father I am for leaving my wife and daughter behind. But what kind of father would I be if I stayed and couldn't provide them with a decent life?" - Yerima
"The idea for trying to reduce the burden of migration is to examine its causes. They are... government policies that entrench people in poverty, that don't develop anything. Schools that don't exist, health problems and corruption, repression. This pushes people to emigrate." - Serge
"In five years, I see myself in my country of origin. For a good five years, (my family) haven't seen each other. Then there will come a day when we will see each other. And when I return to my country, I don't think I will." - Mahamadou
"It was all about making money. Thinking of my mother and father. My older sister. My younger sister. To help them. That was my pressure. That's why Europe." - Drissa
"When I went abroad, I spent three years and eight months abroad. I missed my family terribly. Sometimes I couldn't sleep at night. I was always thinking about my family, my wife and children, what would happen to them with me there." - Drissa
"I started working when I was very young. Being idle and doing nothing is not my thing. There are many of us in this situation; we want to work, we want to get up in the morning, go to work, look after our children. Because, for many of us, immigration means looking after ourselves, looking after our families at home, while participating in the country that let us in. So the idea is to be useful, and that's what we're fighting for." - Twill
"When (my wife) called and said there was no money, I cried. Because where I was, there was no money, but I knew she needed money here. So I cried." - Drissa
"I always remember my mother and father. They always think of me. When I come back, they'll be happy. My friends will be happy. I'll be happy too." - Mahamadou
Report data
- 58% of those interviewed had an income (49%) or were studying (9%) at the time of departure. For the majority of those with an income, it seems to have been competitive in the national context.
- For 66% of the interviewees, having an income or the prospect of an income was not a factor that restricted their decision to migrate.
- 62% of respondents feel they have been treated unfairly by their governments, with many pointing to ethnicity and political views as reasons for perceived unfair treatment.
- 77% felt that their voice was not heard or that their country's political system did not give them the opportunity to exert influence on the government.
- 41% of those interviewed said that "nothing" would have changed their decision to migrate to Europe.
- Average earnings in Europe far exceed average earnings in Africa, even in real terms.
- Among those with income (in Africa and Europe), on average, respondents were sending back just under a third of their income in Europe, representing 85% of their total income in Africa and more than 90% in real terms.
- On average, women earn more than men (compared to relatively lower levels in their home countries), and higher proportions of them were giving money back, reporting lower levels of deprivation and higher levels of well-being.
- The results suggest that those who don't want to live permanently in Europe have more income opportunities. Higher proportions of this group also have a legal right to work and are sending money back.
- 67% of those who don't want to stay permanently in Europe said their communities would be happy if they returned, compared to 41% of those who wanted to live permanently in Europe.