"It's time to take in refugees and not strengthen barriers"

28/04/2016

Researcher David Lagarde is member of the French network Migreurop, which fights against the impediment of immigrants entering the European Union and the closing of Europe's borders. On 22 April, he participated in the "Refugees in Movement" seminar organised by the UAB CER Migracions. Lagarde gave a conference entitled "Mapping of the World's Refugee Camps and Their Consequences for the Immigrant Itinerary".

What does Migreurop work on?

It was created in 2005 and includes other associations fighting for the rights of immigrants, and individuals such as myself. The objective is to evidence the consequences of European migration policies on the lives of immigrants and asylum seekers trying to reach Europe. We use visual reports, exhibits, mappings, etc. In fact, the reason why we participate in this seminar is to show how Migreurop uses maps to shed light on this question.

What can you tell us about the routes taken by Syrian refugees?

In Jordan, at the beginning of the conflict, the borders were open and the route was fairly simple: they travelled by bus and in a few hours went from Damascus to Amman. As more refugees arrived, the official borders were closed and the routes became much longer. The refugees had to go to the east to cross over to Jordan and were forced to take many more risks: they had to cross the desert, areas controlled by the Islamic State, pay to continue their journey, etc. It is interesting to look at the border between Syria and Jordan because there are similarities to what happens in Europe: policies that were quickly applied in Jordan are now showing their immediate effects on the itinerary of refugees. It is like an accelerated laboratory of what we see in Europe.

What needs to change about EU policies?

We want people to learn mainly about the externalisation policies of European borders. By externalisation we mean the way European policies affect other countries such as those south of the Mediterranean (Morocco, Algeria) and Turkey. What is now very clear is the agreement between the EU and Turkey to send back Syrian refugees and other immigrants who have arrived to Greece, but there are also many other similar policies: in the case of Spain, at the beginning of the year 2000, the EU pressured the government to strengthen control of the Gibraltar Strait and Canary Islands. Morocco strengthened its surveillance as well. That made the migratory route move to the east, towards Libya. And then it was Italy who took measures to force Libya to strengthen its control and create retention centres. The consequences of these policies is that the routes become increasingly dangerous, because immigrants are still trying to arrive to Europe. There are more deaths in the Mediterranean Sea than at the borders of Europe.

The dissuasive measures therefore have failed.

For years everything was done to dissuade immigrants from coming and what can be seen is that they always find alternative routes which are more and more dangerous and difficult. If we can realise that it's not working, it might be the moment to think differently and work on how to take in the refugees instead of increasing border controls.

Under what conditions are they retained?

It depends on the country. In the case of Sweden, for example, there is transparency about their living conditions. If you visit the Ministry for Immigration website you can find a lot of information available for families (how to contact relatives in Sweden, visit the centres, etc.). That does not mean that living conditions are particularly good: it is still a prison system, but at least there is a bit of transparency. In the case of Libya, living conditions are terrible and there are even modern day slavery practices. Even before the fall of Gaddafi, immigrants in the centres had no rights to a lawyer and companies, mainly from the agricultural sector, go every morning to pick up immigrants and make them work in the fields (fields which are partially funded by the EU). The time they spend in the retention centre also varies depending on the country.

What about legal conditions? The Migreurop website talks about an "absence of a legal framework".

Each country is different here, too. Many countries have laws regarding this issue, but there is an absence of a legal framework in third countries. Egypt, for example, has no such laws and we find that asylum seekers have been retained for years only because they crossed the border irregularly. In 2012, I volunteered with Migreurop in Egypt and met refugees who were fleeing from oppressive regimes such as the one in Eritrea, and they had been locked up for more than two and a half years together with common prisoners. And some European countries use prisons to lock up irregular immigrants, such as Germany and Switzerland.

Are there different sensitivities in the EU countries?

Eastern European countries find it more difficult to integrate people with different cultural and religious references. But that does not mean that Western Europe is easier: extreme right wing parties are on the grow and use migration to win support. And this only causes a rise in the hate and fear felt towards foreigners. The Islamic State in Syria understood it perfectly, by sending people with Syrian passports to attack Paris and Brussels and having them pass through the hot spots in Greece they can manipulate public opinion in Europe, and make citizens feel more fear and rejection towards immigrants and refugees. And this also increases tensions between Europeans and Northern African populations who have lived here for generations. Extreme right wing parties and terrorist groups are set on dividing public opinion and ruining our coexistence.

There are nonetheless new expressions of solidarity?

Yes, there are movements. In Greece, although the country is in a crisis, there are many social initiatives to help the refugees: providing food, giving them a place to sleep, etc. This has also happened in Germany and Austria. They are good examples and give us hope.

How can the university raise awareness about the reality of refugees and foster acts of solidarity?

Many researchers are working on this issue. I myself am a PhD student in Geography and my research focuses on Syrian refugees in Jordan. There are increasingly more research papers published in a variety of media. That is, in my opinion, the role it should have: offering an in depth analysis to the wider public through different formats. I use maps frequently to present the routes taken by refugees. Contrary to the maps we see in the media, with large arrows pointing to Europe to show refugees fleeing from poorer countries, the routes they take are very complex and there are many factors involved.

More information: Refugees on the Move