Breakdown of the IOM Report Migration Trends Across the Mediterranean; Connecting the Dots (June 2015)

Migration Trends Across the Mediterranean; Connecting the Dots (June 2015)

By: Altai Consulting

Written: Arezo Melakouti

Supervised: Eric Davin

Study Conducted Between November 2014 and 2015

Note: When a mention Migrants just as in the report I'm referencing mix migratory flows 

It took me a while but finally  bring you guys the breakdown of the IOM report that came out last year, that describes the migratory situation of North Africa, and why people are taking the risk in crossing  Mediterranean and here is the original Report at this link..   

Key Points  and highlights by country:

Spain (Destination/Transit Country {note these country  classifications that I established are not defined in this report, but I'm using them for a report that I'm writing}): The Report starts off explaining that  90% ( 10p. Altai) of all irregular migrants entered legally and became irregular when their permanence expire, for example expiration of  visas, and became irregular and only 10% (10p. Altai) entered through illegal boat crossings. Most of the flow the head to Spain originates from Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea and Nigeria. And the report make the observation that there has been a steady transition from migrants to Asylum Seekers.  

The two largest groups of irregular migrants in Spain were Syrians with 66.684 (26p. Altai) people and Eritreans 34.341 (26p. Altai) individuals ( note that both nationals cross the African continent from east to west instead of trying to cross though Egypt) , these two groups were far ahead of the unspecified Sub-Saharans at 26.341 (26p. Altai). Spain had 5.941 (26p. Altai) asylum petitions made during 2014 with Syrians being around 28% , Ukrainian nationals at 16% and Malians at 10% (26p. Altai).

Spain has two enclaves in Morocco Cueta and Melilla, that are completely fenced off, and in the case of Melilla  the report  mentions that migrants actually storm the fence in large groups and authorities from both sides try to stop them but some do make it  through, and it must be noted that the Morocan authorities have made a second fence perimeter on their side. 

Now for Cueta  because of its geography migrants try to access it by sea but are pushed back with force by the Spanish Guardia Civil and they have used in the past pellet guns to scary them off, but this particular practice have actually killed migrants in the past.

 

 But in both cases migrants do try a less risky ways into crossing in to these enclaves like hiding in cars that are entering these territories. 

Morocco (Transit Country/ Destination Country/Springboard State /Buffer State): When migrants arrive to Morocco many stay  because of the difficulty in crossing to Spain or hindrance of the Moroccan government or the fact that they actually find jobs in the country, Morocco has a need for migrant labor in the agricultural sector and in construction and authorities actually gives them the possibility to do this legally and establish residency. So in a ways this State some times works like a barrier nation blocking the entrance to Europe, and they use this capability as a political tool to negotiate with Europe. 

There are four main crossing routs to Spain: through the Gibraltar stretch, Tangier-Tarifa and two land crossings into Melilla and Cueta two Spanish  enclaves in Morocco. 

Now this country also receives Asylum seekers that are feeling conflicts like Syrians nationals, residually Ivoirians that have fled their civil War and Nigerians escaping Boko Haram.  

A big issue with Spain is the fact that Syrians actually are able to "rent" Moroccan passports, because ethnically they are similar to Moroccans who are allowed to enter transitorily to the enclave, once in, they petition for asylum. 

Libya (Transit Country / Trafficking Hotspot/Springboard State/Buffer State) : The report reveals a complicated situation in this country while being hostile to the migratory flows having rival factions, the official government and rebel groups, accusing the migrants having help the opposing  side, with a particularly strong scapegoating against Palestinian and Syrians, but as somewhat of a paradox the Libyan Crisis has "created the perception of the  Door of Europe being open"  (82p. Altai)  and Libya is the doorstep. The country has 18 official detention centers and possibly has more none official centers held by the rebels. Migrants transiting through this territory possibly may end up in bonded labor and  in situation of labor exploitation.

This country actually has a public institution that was specifically created to hunt down migrants called the Directorate for Combating Illegal Migrants, that has opened 18  (64p. Altai) detention facilities around the country, I must note that the report establishes that only  15 (64p. Altai) are functional, but the interesting thing is that in the rebel held areas of the country they also have migrant detention facilities. 

Libya is the main jumping point to cross to Italy and Malta, 80%  (78p. Altai) of all the illegal boat arrivals to Italy part from Libya.

In some cases migrants are trapped in Libya not willing to cross to Europe and facing a hostile situation, and adding to this most countries have closed their embassies so  these people  cannot go to any authorities for help.

Egypt (Destination, Transit):  A over saturated with refugees, so it has become transit country to Europe, even though official actively try to stop boats from leaving there coast.

Niger ( Transit Country/ Trafficking Hotspot): Report establishes the  cities of Arlit and Agadez, as human trafficking hotspots.

Mali (Transit/Trafficking Hotspot): The city of Gao is pinpointed as another trafiking center for migrants.  

Syria (Origin country): Something that laid the ground work for the disaster that pushed thousands of Syrian  fleeing their conflict to cross by boat to Europe via Turkey , was when air travel routs started to be block in 2013 Egypt started to require visas for Syrian passengers so airlines companies wouldn't embark those who didn't have them and Egyptian authorities wouldn't issue them, in 2014 Algeria and Libya followed the same example, leaving Sudan as the only option to travel by air and latter they would transit to Libya by land to try and cross into Europe by boat. 

Tunisia (Transit Country): The country has disarticulated most of the migratory flow through its territory especial heading towards the sea, there are  many migratory check points in the country filtering out irregular migrants.

Things that one can take away from this report:

·         It incredible to see the quagmire that the United State and Europe have created in Libya they indirectly created a springboard to access Europe. The country has ended up as a no man's land  trafficker  have really taken advantage of and established themselves.

·         The report implicitly exposes the issue that as time goes  by its hard and hard to separate migratory flows from asylum seekers and people that are being trafficked, flows are mixed and overlap one another.

·         The report establishes the need of the use of the term irregular migrants and not to use the term of Illegal migrant or illegal, which negates the humanity of the migrants and I must add it adds a level of menace, inclination towards the criminal, to these people that in general are searching for a better life. The term illegal's is used by ill intention politicians to scapegoat on these people, to gain politically.

·         When one reads this report must understand it referring to Mixed Migratory  heading for Europe, it has migrants, refugees and involuntary migrants / victims of trafficking all marching together using the same routs. 

·         The report explains that Dublin III regulations establish that the first country where migrants set foot in is where they have to petition for Asylum or has gotten his fingerprints for Eurodac, and only one claim per person. This regulation plays a important role during the migratory crisis during 2015, when Sweden and Germany unilateral decide to not apply it. 

·         The report actually  works on the concept of what is a Migrant, with a series of interviews that are real eye openers. Basically the Report implicitly establishes that the  idea of Economic Migrant is a over simplification that people not only move over financial/economic needs and physical security issues, but also  that they have  a need of auto-realization, they want a education,  they feel that their lives go nowhere and must migrate to be able to study and/or do something with their lives.  Many of these migrants can make ends meet, but want to grow as people, they want to tap into their true potential or be able apply skills that they have learned and have grown tired of their respective countries instability or lack of opportunities. 

·         Report cites Easterlin's Paradox to explain that income doesn't determine if a person migrates, I got to look that paradox up. 

·         In other cases the Report establish that migration is actually culturally predetermined, it's expected of you to migrate, it's literally a rite of passage.

·         It very interesting to see how Algeria is almost never mention in the report it like a black hole, Altai and the IOM most not have had access to their information and statistics.

The Bad:

·         The report is so well summarized at the beginning that it almost redundant to read the rest, the only novelty of the rest of the report  is that it digs deeper in a statistical level, and you get to read the interviews.

T

Book Review and Analysis: The Lost Wonders of the World, a Brief History of Cultural Catastrophes of Civilization. (2012) Fernando Baez Work in progress

Book Title:  The Lost Wonders of the World, a Brief History of Cultural Catastrophes of Civilization. (2012)

Author: Fernando Baez

 My Personal Expectation with de Book ( Basically why I Picked it up.): I went and bought this book at my local bookstore because I really enjoyed another book from this author, called the History of Books (Note that I have already reviewed), hoping that this new book would answer some questions that Baez left unanswered or presupposed in his History of Books, so I can  get a better idea of Baez's historical views.  

 Central Thymes and Concepts, that interested me as the reader:

The book is at its best when the author talks about his personal experiences he really adds a very interesting perspective, it's not your ordinary history book, you can tell he's a super dedicated investigator, that cares for his object of study in a good way.

 

Author establishes that 50% of humanities collective memory has been lost.
and Baez affirms that the driving force for this book is the fear of forgetting and it's consequences, on a personal level and as a spices.

Baez defines  civilization, as a plural society that is complex and is interconnected by a series of cultural norms, is tied to a tradition, language  and religion, creating a collective identity.

There is no civilization without culture, this is one of the main starting points for anthropology, and civilization for archeologist there is no civilization if these four components are not found: city, writing, religion and division/specialization of tasks/labor.

But a civilization decline over time and some disappear for diverse reasons, and this book analysis in detail many historic cities, monuments and wonders that are gone, because they were destroyed by war, built over, lost thanks to natural disasters, in some cases completely forgotten...

The Neolithic era which mean new rock, was characterized with many advancements for our species domestication of plants, like cereals, and animals, and also a urban revolution, sedentary life gave way to accumulation on information and knowledge and the search for group security, set forth the evolution for the birth of civilization.

 

Even though the has been very extensive archeological work in the region of Mesopotamia the author establishes that it's possible that we have only uncovered about 50% , and he mentions that they haven't been able to find yet  the city of Dilmun mentioned in the epic poem of Gilgamesh, city that may have inspired the word paradise that etymologically means inside walls or walls all around. Now I find it fascinating to think for the first humans to live in a city to have security gave man peace of mind to be able to developed and evolve culture.

The author talks about the 6 wonders of the ancient world, establishing that no one truly knows who established this list, that possibly it was a poet by the name  Calimaco of Cirene, the original six where the Pyramids of Giza, statue of Zeus, the Colossus, the Mausoleum and the Palace of Artemis
The Seven wonders took form over time, and Baez explains that basically the Greek liked seven more, and they changed over time until we get the one that we have now.

Baez affirm that language is a prosthesis of memory and a fundamental aspect to any culture, from what I understand from the author's work langue is a extension of a collective memory and it's a means to access it. So for the author lost/dead languages are the evidence  that a collective memory has been lost. There are 6800 languages and 3000 are on the verge of being lost, since 1950 humanity has lost 200 languages, 96% of all the languages of the world are only spoken by 4% of the world's population.

Better langue skill gave humans the upper hand of the Neanderthal, be able organize calendars to hunt y collects food. The first writing appeared  4000 years b.C. In Europe but not much is known about this first writing system so the author jumps to cuneiform a subject that he works on in his book the history of books.

 

The Good stuff about the book itself and some interesting facts that learned from it:

The book gets right to business nice and quick, the introduction establishes what the author wants to do, defines the principal terms and explains on a personal level why this subject is important.

  

The city States Uruk and Ur where the place of origin of many inventions like the wheel, writing, books, libraries, archives, maps, codes of law, the chariot, epic tails like the Poem of Gilgamesh, the idea of  a lost paradise, seven day week, the twelve month year, astronomical guides. 

Modern day Ur the place where Abraham was born is now called Tell al Muqayar. Ur was founded 4000 b.C. by the Obeid and one of their lasting constructions is the Zigurat, now the book has a photo of one of these and it's a colossal construction I really wonder why I haven't ever seen it in any documentaries, and I love to see them, these things are just as relevant as the Egyptian pyramids, culturally they are sort of swept under the rug for some unknown reason to me.

Baez present the reader with something really sad the fact that in 2003, the US soldiers actually stole clay bricks from Ur monuments and graffitied some of them. Also Iraq's national museum was looted 25 objects of importance  and 14 thousand less important artifacts were stolen, they even stole some of the science gear and things needed to preserve archeological artifacts. The author really opens this can of worms that is fascinating and very sad ( Note Baez has a book dedicated to the subject), now I always wondered why would the Bush Administration commit such a colossal blunder in not protecting such important things to the human patrimony. But I'm just being stupid because this administration couldn't even prepare the most basic aspects of that war.

 
 When talking about Egypt the author is pretty blunt by expressing how European countries stole as much as they could put their hands on, even a whole obelisk of Luxor that was taken to France as a trophy.The temple of Luxor was used as a roman military base, many years latter a mosque was built in part of the temple called Abu el Hagad, and Christians stole blocks from the structure to build Churches, and it estimated that only 40%  of the original temple is left.

 When Fernando talks about Biblios he has a particular fondness for the place that he also expresses this in his book  "The History of Books". Reading this part of the book is great because it personal for him and he seems to have really enjoyed his trip there and what he had learned there.
Now in Biblios is the place where alphabet was created around 1060 b.C which the Greek copied for their own writing system, but the author mention that about 95% of the original alphabet has been lost over time.


In Petra  the author tell another personal story about his travels to that historic site and how he was infuriated when a local guide tried to sell him a priceless archeological object made by the Nabateans the creators of Petra.

The Tower of Babel mentioned in the bible is refrenced by Baez, the author explains that the story   might have its origen in a Sumerian tale of Enmerkar the lord of Aratta, that thanks to Eridu humanities original langue was divided into many. The bible establishes that Nimrod was the one that built the Tower of Babel   but it was really made by Nabucodonosor II, that also used Jewish slaves to create the Zigurate of Etemenanki in 575 b.C. The tower was a watch tower about 90 meters tall.

Author also references that Noah's ark story also having a Sumerian origin, establishing that there is cuneiform tablet of Ninive, that mentions a great flood and was part  of the poem of Gilgamesh, basically it's a story of a man that survives a flood that was sent against the city of Shuripak, and that had to build a boat in the form of a cube that had seven floors. In another epic poem Atra-has
in Greek mythology Zeus also flooded the earth in anger and boat built by Deucalion, king of Tesalia to survive the tragedy with his wife.

The temple of Salomon orTemple of Jerusalem, also known as Beit Hamikdash, has had three incarnations.First temple was built during the fourth year of the regime of Solomon, this building  goes back to X b.C and had help from the king of Tiro  Hiram, and wood was a big part of the structure, it was the center of the Jewish physical and spiritual world. The Arc of the  Covenant was kept there with the Ten Commandments. In 586 temple was destroyed by Nabucodonosor who made the Jewish people his slave and took them to Babylon. The Jewish people had to wait till Ciro of Persia liberated them in 538. The second temple was built with the help of the Persians, but was left incomplete because Antioco IV Epifanes attacked and enslaved many Jewish people and destroyed the temple and imposed the cult to Zeus in 168 b.C. In both cases the Archeologist have never found  phisical evidence of the original two temples they have been lost in time.

Now the third temple is the legacy of one of the most hated men in Jewish history Herodes the great, governor that's severed the Romans, he built the new temple as a gesture to the Jewish people, and in the year 70  roman soldiers set fire to the temple as payback for the Jewish rebellion of the Zealots.

Baez presents some shoking numbers from Second World War, that  the Germans devastated 1710 cities, 70000 towns and villages, destroyed 6000000 historical buildings, they explicitly tried to inflict as much damage on their adversary as possible sending 4 billion euro on the conflict. They also stole 5 million cultural objects. Author also mention that the Nazi deliberately attacked libraries and archive building, but refers to another one of his  books that's about this subject published in 2004.
.

 

 

 The Bad:

Book lacks a little balanced the author dedicates a lot in pages  to cities and historical monuments, but very little to langue and art, it feels almost tacked on, he could have left this a out and put this info in another book.

Overall: I'll give this book a 9.5out of 10,  it's a great and easy read, I ate it up and finished it really fast becasuse of how much I liked it and I can't wait to get my hand on another book by this author.