Gambia deal can be a breakthrough in the migration discussion, Germany hopes

Gambia deal can be a breakthrough in the migration discussion, Germany hopes
Gambia deal can be a breakthrough in the migration discussion, Germany hopes
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AFP

Gambian refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos
  • Saskia Dekkers

    correspondent Europe

  • Saskia Dekkers

    correspondent Europe

It is the elephant in the European chamber: only twenty percent of all asylum seekers in the EU that have exhausted all legal remedies are returned to their country of origin. The remaining people, eighty percent, roam the continent without papers and have to make a living through undeclared work, drug trafficking or prostitution.

All European governments have the solution of ‘more and more quickly deporting asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies’, but the reality is that hardly any country succeeds in doing this. The European Union’s answer so far has been to raise fences and punish governments more severely, but the question is whether that will stop people.

The chief adviser to the German government, Gerald Knaus, is now working on a new solution for Germany. A solution that should be both more humane and more effective: closing deals with countries of origin that benefit both parties, starting with The Gambia. It is one of the examples of the new German asylum policy under Chancellor Scholz.

Our people are allowed to work in Germany and do not have to undertake a dangerous journey. It goes without saying that the Gambia will then take back all irregular migrants.

Musa Camara of the Gambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

How does that work? All illegal Gambians who are still in Germany and have not come into contact with the police there are allowed to stay and receive a work permit. From now on, Gambians can only travel to Germany legally. They can apply for a work visa for jobs that Germany needs, for example car mechanic or nurse, but also for a study. In this way, not only people with diplomas get a chance. And women are also more likely to immigrate.

Gambians who come to Germany illegally are quickly checked and deported from the country. The Gambian government will immediately take back all new illegal immigrants. So there is little point in making the dangerous journey to Germany. Human smugglers no longer have a revenue model.

‘Win win situation’

Creator Gerald Knaus calls the Gambia deal a breakthrough. “The pushbacks, the large groups of illegal immigrants roaming through Europe, it has become untenable. And it is not possible to make good agreements with countries of origin or transit countries such as Libya or Morocco. The stricter the language from Europe, the less they want to cooperate For Germany, the lack of personnel is also one of the biggest problems of the coming decades. Then it is obvious to look at it better.”

Musa Camara, Director of Migration and Diaspora at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Gambia, says the Gambian government is ready to reach an agreement with Germany. “It’s a win-win situation. Our people are allowed to work in Germany and don’t have to undertake a dangerous journey. It goes without saying that the Gambia will then take back all irregular migrants.”

Largest source of income

The Gambia is a small country with two million people, one third of whom live below the poverty line. About a hundred thousand young Gambians have already left for Europe. Usually these young people do not get asylum and, once in Europe, they live illegally. More than a quarter of the Gambia’s GDP now consists of money that these migrants send from Europe to their families. Migration is the country’s largest source of income. Since 2019, the Gambian government has therefore refused to cooperate with European deportations.

Nobody in The Gambia is waiting for planes full of ‘losers’, young people who have been deported from European countries and thereby bring their families back into poverty. Earlier there were fierce protests at the arrival of repatriation flights. The political pressure on the Gambian government to refuse returnees is great.

A Gambia deal can serve as a blueprint, but not every country is suitable, Knaus acknowledges: “It is impossible to negotiate with Libya, Russia, Belarus and a number of African countries. But that is no reason not to try anything, to make legal migration possible and do everything to limit illegal migration. It will never stop completely, not even with more walls and fences.”

The article is in Dutch

Tags: Gambia deal breakthrough migration discussion Germany hopes

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