Emigration flows from North Africa to Europe

European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 24, Supplement 1, 2014, 2–5 ß The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved. doi:10.1093/eurpub/cku105 ......................................................................................................... Emigration flows from North Africa to Europe Hassène Kassar1, Diaa Marzouk2, Wagida A. Anwar2, Chérifa Lakhoua3, Kari Hemminki4,5, Meriem Khyatti6 1 Laboratory, History of Mediterranean economies and societies, Faculté of Humanities at Tunis/Center of studies and prospective research, Tunis, Tunisia 2 Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt 3 Carthage University- Prospective Researches and Study Centre, Tunis, Tunisia 4 Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany 5 Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, 205 02 Malmö, Sweden 6 Laboratory of Oncovirology, Institute Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco Correspondence: Hassène Kassar, Laboratory, History of Mediterranean economies and societies, Faculté of Humanities at Tunis/Center of studies and prospective research, Tunis, Tunisia, Tel: +216 712 770 32, Fax: +216 982 156 85, e-mail: The region of North Africa (NA) represents a striking locality regarding migration with several migration patterns, namely emigration in the form of labour export to Europe and North America and, to a lesser extent, to the Arab Gulf area. The latter has increased enormously in the last decade because of the political instability in most of the NA countries. The aim of the present chapter was to explore the patterns of migration stocks and flows in NA countries, based on several websites, systematic review of journals, comparable data available by the United Nations and by the International Organization of Migration. The NA region has become an area of transit migration and labour migration. Emigrant flows from NA countries towards Europe and North America are increasing this decade more than towards the Arab Gulf countries after being replaced by Asian labour. The recent increase in the proportion of women among the migrant population is remarkable. Remittances sent by African migrants have become an important source of external finance for countries of origin. Transient and irregular migration to Egypt originates at the borders with Sudan, Palestine and Libya with destination to the Euro Mediterranean countries. In Tunisia and Morocco, irregular migrants originate from Sub-Saharan Africa to the northern borders. The NA countries serve as departure rather than destination countries, and migration flows to the Euro-Mediterranean countries through legal or illegal routes. ......................................................................................................... Introduction he location of North Africa (NA), at the crossroads of one of the Tlargest and most ancient medieval civilizations, has contributed to the diverse ethnic and cultural mix seen today. As part of the Arab world, Africa and the Mediterranean have benefited and contributed throughout their history to human and cultural exchanges, not only at the regional level but throughout the world. By being one of the oldest forms that contributed to human, cultural and commercial exchanges, migration has always been involved in making this region historically an ‘open space’. However, although the contemporary phenomenon of migration has kept the same characteristics as before, it has recently taken many forms and has become more problematic. Since the colonial era, thousands of citizens of northern countries, especially those of the former colonial powers, are residing in NA, which has represented a relatively high proportion of the population for many years. These countries have been transformed from sources of immigration to sources of emigration, with the emigration rate multiplied by three in a period of 50 years. As a crucial issue of the North–South relations, international migration is of major concern to all countries of the European Union (EU). Since the implementation of the Barcelona Process in 1995, the EU policies have been working to control the Maghreb countries in terms of migratory flows and to protect its southern border. Although subject to great controversies, the history of migration, which dates back for several decades, is still a relevant subject. Researchers and specialists are often called to make updates on the history of this immigration and have still not reached any consensus or unanimity about the question. In addition, this controversy continues to grow each time there are elections in the north or fatal accidents in the southern beaches. Furthermore, although the original analysis of migration is no longer valid, analyzing the evolution of migration is still relevant and requires a continuous follow-up. This is especially because the scope of the analysis is far beyond the boundaries of academic research and falls more so into the political arena. Consequently, this analysis should not be done by historians, sociologists or political scientists alone; it requires a multidisciplinary approach. Migration stocks and flows were reviewed from several websites and journals, as multi-country data are not adequately available from national sources. The present article relied on comparable data available by the United Nations, in addition to the United Nation High Commissionaire for Refugees (UNHCR), and International Organization of Migration and published articles. Immigration flows Initially, the migration of Maghrebians to Europe was the direct result of colonization and has since been regarded as an economic factor regulating the labour market, in both the Maghreb and Europe, especially in France. This phenomenon dates back to the colonial impact but has gained momentum with decolonization, and it appears that it has taken other irreversible forms with globalization. Regulation of migration has become structural and immigrants who ‘dared’ to cross the Mediterranean found themselves bound to their initial decision, with their emigration becoming a point of no return.1 As stated by Fernand Braudel,2 the Mediterranean was defined as a ‘movement space’, where an exchange takes place coupled to intermingling conflicts. The south shore, now considered as a main area of migration to the north shore, was also an area of immigration that received different populations in distress from Andalusia, Italy, Spain, Malta and other Mediterranean islands. Migration is a fact which finds its explanation in the multidimensional story that links the countries of origin with the receiving Emigration flows from North Africa to Europe countries. The concept of space is a sensible explanation beyond the geographic boundaries with economic, human, social, cultural and political significance. The changin (...truncated)