Abstract
In this chapter attempts to offer some few insights we garnered from our study from a perspective of impact: Consequences and Recommendations. To us, what is needed is a joint effort of African countries and European powers—first and foremost those with colonialist past—to reduce the strength of push factors, i.e., factors that increase desires to emigrate from Africa. Secondly, we see a need to reduce the impact of falsely perceived pull factors, i.e., false conceptions of ever-greener pastures in Europe. For migrants who already have arrived in Europe a more welcoming climate is urgently needed—in the interest of social peace in Europe! Racism continues to show its ugly face everywhere.
With what result? Poor fool that I am, I'm no whit wiser than when I began!.
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust)
This is a semi-official translation of “da steh ich nun ich armer Tor und bin so klug als wie zuvor,” cited from Goethe’s drama ‘Faust,’ first scene [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Faust_(Goethe)/Scene_I]. Faust is often seen as Germany’s national drama, written by the most prominent poet of Germany.
You have full access to this open access chapter, Download chapter PDF
Introduction
Unfortunately, the final chapter of this volume is less voluminous than one would wish for, because good advice is not easily formulated. A recommendations section of a book like the present one clearly has a strong normative touch. It is a political statement, with all the connotations the term ‘political’ has.
What our study has clearly shown is that African migrants do not come ‘sick,’ but are often made sick in Europe. The repercussions of traumatic experience at home are obvious, but they are not overly strong. There are migrants suffering from PTSD, but posttraumatic stress disorder is not at the center of problems African migrants face in Europe. Racism and related welcome strategies—to use a cynical formulation—are much more likely to cause general mental health problems that did not exist before.
How does one reduce racism? The only reasonably simple answer to this question is offered by research subsequent to the contact hypothesis. There is sufficient evidence that contact reduces prejudice even in its more blatant form of racism. This means that detaining African migrants in camps is absolutely counterproductive if the aim is to generate a healthy relationship between receiving societies and new arrivals. Detention from that perspective has to stop. African migrants must not be treated as if they needed to be quarantined because of a contagious infection.
If European societies think that African (and other) migrants are ‘not needed’ in Europe (itself a dubious conclusion in light of demographic change and future scarcity of young people to fill retirement funds to support the many older native citizens of Europe), then they have to engage in reducing the impact of push factors in the migrants’ homelands. Not that reducing the thrust of push factors were only the task of European countries, civil society in Africa has to also take a share in that change process, but Europe has a history of being co-responsible for bad governance and government in Africa.
Opening European markets for African products (and not just souvenir-like folklore products, but products and services that are indeed needed in Europe) is the call of the day in our view. Subsidizing the import of certain African goods to Europe might even work wonder in keeping people who produce these goods in their homelands. Current practices work to the opposite. European products (and products from other rich Western countries) are dump-sold in Africa, and—even physically—destroy African producers of the same type of good, thereby strengthening the push factor, forcing people to places, where these dump-sold goods are after all being produced.
Repatriation instead of deportation should be another response to non-successful attempts of Africans to migrate to Europe. The degree of not being welcome seems difficult to reduce. In this situation support for start-up programs in their homelands might be an inexpensive option to be offered to Africans who have ‘sniffed European air,’ but have not been able to firmly set foot into European societies. This would also be a safeguard against brain drain (pulling out the best), because it supports ‘brain circulation’ (Stewart, 2013).
The whole debate of how to react to African emigration need not be a human rights debate, although Europe has to acknowledge that human rights guaranteed by the UN Declaration of Human Rights are grossly violated by European countries both through a ‘bulwark Europe’ policy and through economic exploitation practices. It would be enough to establish trade relations on an equal footing and sharing the benefits of European investment in Africa fairly between investors and those who produce the added value in Africa.
Here we already come to a close of this very brief concluding chapter: Africa does need help to help itself, it also needs help to reduce its emigration rates. Van der Lugt (2018) shows that China seemingly has found a way to work for this aim in Africa, quite clearly also in their own best interest. Not that Europe should copy Chinese strategies, but pursuing a policy of ‘actively coping’ with African economic and political challenges is the call of the day.
References
Stewart, D. W. (2013). Guiding principles for supporting global careers. In J. D. Kent (Ed.), Graduate education for global career pathways (pp. 163–164). Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools.
Van der Lugt, S. (2018). Re-evaluating the impact of institutional distance on the location choice and success of foreign investors: comparing Chinese and Western investors in Africa. Retrieved from http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:46-00107122-19.
Uncited References
Adepoju, A. (2004). Changing configurations of migration in Africa. Retrieved from http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=251.
Arnold, G. (2012). Migration: Changing the world. London: Pluto Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt183h0pm.
Bernstein, D., Cramer, K., Fenwick, K., & Fraser, I. (2008). Psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Berry, J. W., & Kalin, R. (1995). Multicultural and ethnic attitudes in Canada: An overview of the 1991 National Survey. Canadian Journal of Behavioural, 27(3), 301–320. https://doi.org/10.1037/0008-400X.27.3.301.
DeFreece, D. (2016). Dealing with migratory trauma: Mental health stressors and coping mechanisms among sub-Saharan migrants in Rabat, Morocco. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2480.
De Williams, A. C., & van der Merwe, J. (2013). The psychological impact of torture. British Journal of Pain, 7(2), 101–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/2049463713483596.
Eysenck, S. B. G., Adelaja, O., & Eysenck, H. J. (1977). A comparative study of personality in Nigerian and English subjects. Journal of Social Psychology, 102, 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1977.9713261.
Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. D. (2018). World happiness report 2018. New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/happiness-report/2018/WHR_web.pdf.
Hess, R. L. (1966). Italian Colonialism in Somalia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences–comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Idemudia, E. S. (1997). Are people in prisons offenders or patients? The Eysenck- Three factor personality trait explanation. Ife Psychologia: An International Journal, 5(2), 162–184. Retrieved from https://journals.co.za/content/ifepsyc/5/2/AJA11171421_137.
Idemudia, E. S. (2008). Gender, life experiences and reported feelings of wellbeing among African migrants in Germany. In A. A. Olowu (Ed.), Xenophobia: A contemporary issue in psychology (pp. 242–260). Ile-Ife, Nigeria: The Ife Centre for Psychological Studies.
Idemudia, E. S. (2009). Perceived living conditions and reported feelings of wellbeing among Africans in Germany. Gender & Behaviour, 7(2), 2541–2556. https://doi.org/10.4314/gab.v7i2.48707.
International Monetary Fund. (IMF, 2016). World economic outlook: Subdued demand: Symptoms and remedies. Washington, DC: IMF. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/~/media/Websites/IMF/imported-flagship-issues/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/02/pdf/_textpdf.ashx.
International Organization for Migration. (IOM, 2015). From brain drain to brain gain. Retrieved from https://www.iom.int/oped/brain-drain-brain-gain.
International Organization of Migration. (IOM, 2017a). Four decades of cross-Mediterranean undocumented migration to Europe. A review of evidence. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Migration. Retrieved from https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/four_decades_of_cross_mediterranean.pdf.
Jagodzinski, W., & Greeley, A. (1991). The demand for religion: Hard Core Atheism and ‘supply side’ theory. Paper prepared for the International Social Survey Program’s Study of Religion. http://www.agreeley.com/articles/hardcore.html.
Jegede, R. O. (1980). Nigerian university students’ characteristics as measured by Eysenck personality questionnaire. African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences, 9(3–4), 129–133. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6283858.
Koopmans, R. (2013). Multiculturalism and immigration: A contested field in cross national comparison. Annual Review of Sociology, 39, 147–169. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071312-145630.
Laban, C., Gernaat, H., Komproe, I., Tweel, I., & Jong, J. (2006). Postmigration living problems and common psychiatric disorders in Iraqi asylum seekers in the Netherlands. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 193, 825–32. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nmd.0000188977.44657.1d.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4): 370–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346.
Maslow, A. H. (1969). The farther reaches of human nature. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1(1), 1–9.
McAuliffe, M., & Goossens, A. M. (2018). Regulating international migration in an era of increasing interconnectedness. In A. Triandafyllidou (Ed.), Handbook on migration and globalisation (pp. 86–104). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Michael, M. (201, June 30). Migrants stranded in Libya endure sewage, maggots, disease. Retrieved from https://www.apnews.com/43eb47c8ce6b4946a91f8c37f41c7cbe.
Miller, D. (2016). Strangers in our midst. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Mumba-Martiskainen, L. (2016). “Matter”: Mental health challenges in asylum seekers and refugees in Lahti (BSc. project, Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, Finland). Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9730/f86bc8b82630b584761b1e11d9394f79b539.pdf?_ga=2.219209113.1259977442.1569498565-1960820268.1551039781.
NewsDeeply. (n.d.). The asylum process. Retrieved from https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/background/the-asylum-process.
Pellat, S. (n.d.). Living with post-traumatic stress disorder. Retrieved from http://www.medihelplivingwith.co.za/LivingWith_PostTraumaticStressDisorder.aspx?gclid=CILi3vLEj6kCFYIKfAodVSEsqQ.
Persaud, A. (2017). Geopolitics: Needs of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Europe. TPM-Testing, Psychometrics, methodology in Applied Psychology, 24(3), 399–407. https://doi.org/10.4473/TPM24.3.6.
Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York: Free Press.
Schwartz, S. H. (1994). Beyond individualism/collectivism: New cultural dimensions of values. In H. C. T. U. Kim, Ç. Kâgitçibasi, S. Choi, & G. Yoon (Eds.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications (pp. 85–119). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Schwartz, S. H. (2004). Mapping and interpreting cultural differences around the world. In H. Vinken, J. Soeters, & P. Ester (Eds.), Comparing cultures: Dimensions of culture in a comparative perspective (pp. 43–73). Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill.
Silbereisen, R. K., & Tomasik, M. J. (2010). Human behavior in response to social change: A guide to the special section. European Psychologist, 15, 243–245. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000059.
Smith, D. M. (1976). Mussolini’s Roman Empire. New York: Viking.
Tanaka, T., Takai, J., Kohyama, T., & Fujihara, T. (2002). Adjustment patterns of international students in Japan. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 18(1), 55–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(94)90004-3.
The World Bank. (2016). Migration and development. A role for the World Bank Group. Washington, DC: World Bank. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/690381472677671445/Migration-and-development-arole-for-the-World-Bank-Group.
UNICEF. (2016). Annual Report 2016. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/publications/index_96412.html.
United Nations Commission for Africa. (2017). African Regional Consultative Meeting on the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, Addis Ababa. Retrieved from http://repository.uneca.org/bitstream/handle/10855/24074/b11875240.pdf?sequence=1.
United Nations Commission on Human Right. (UNHCR, 2011). Statistical Yearbook 2010. Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/statistics/country/4ef9cc9c9/unhcr-statistical-yearbook-2010-10th-edition.html.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (UNCTAD, 2018) Economic development in Africa Report 2018. Migration for Structural Transformation. Retrieved from https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/aldcafrica2018_en.pdf.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (UNDESA, 2013). World population prospects: The 2012 revision. Highlights. New York: United Nations. Retrieved from https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2012_HIGHLIGHTS.pdf.
United Nations High Commission for Refugees. (UNHCR, 2017). Global trends forced displacement in 2017. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/5b27be547.pdf.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (UNHCR, 2017). Libya detention centres: Detention centres in which UNHCR and Partners are carrying out activities. Retrieved from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/DetainedAndDehumanised_en.pdf.
United Nations High Commission for Refugee. (UNHCR, 2019). Populations. Retrieved from http://reporting.unhcr.org/population.
United Nations Support Mission in Libya/Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2016). Detained and dehumanised—Report on human rights abuses against migrants in Libya. Retrieved from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/DetainedAndDehumanised_en.pdf.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (UNDESA 2017). Trends in international migrant stock: The 2017 revision. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/docs/MigrationStockDocumentation_2017.pdf.
Vogel, D. (2009). Size and development of irregular migration to the EU—CLANDESTINO research project. Retrieved from http://irregular-migration.net/typo3_upload/groups/31/4.Background_Information/4.2.Policy_Briefs_EN/ComparativePolicyBrief_SizeOfIrregularMigration_Clandestino_Nov09_2.pdf.
Williams, A. C., & van der Merwe, J. (2012). The psychological impact of torture. British Journal of Pain, 7, 101–106.
Worldometers. (2019). Population of Africa. Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Idemudia, E., Boehnke, K. (2020). Impact: Consequences and Recommendations. In: Psychosocial Experiences of African Migrants in Six European Countries. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 81. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48347-0_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48347-0_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-48346-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-48347-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)