By Almahady Cissé
BAMAKO, Oct 11 2006 (IPS)

About a year ago, headlines were dominated by the latest tragedy to befall African migrants who try to enter Europe illegally. According to rights group Amnesty International, at least 11 were killed over the space of a few weeks as thousands of Africans tried to scale fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla.

These Spanish enclaves, situated on the Moroccan coastline, are seen by many migrants as a way to gain entry to Europe – and a better life.

“A year ago, we returned from hell…hearts bruised, martyred, sometimes maimed,” said Mamadou Kéita, president of ‘Return – Work – Dignity’ (Retour – Travail – Dignité).

This association was created in October 2005 with support from the ‘Forum for Another Mali’ (Forum pour un autre Mali, FORAM), a coalition of non-governmental organisations and Malian civil society groups. ‘Return – Work – Dignity’ includes about 200 Malians expelled from Ceuta and Melilla.

Now, certain migrants are trying to find another way to escape the poverty and unemployment that made life in Europe beckon.

“Since our return to the country, we are working hard to rebuild our dignity through workshops for carpentry, basket making, jewelry manufacture and painting,” said Adama Coulibaly of ‘Return – Work – Dignity’.

Noted Kéita, “Two weeks ago, we obtained an order from a Japanese woman that was worth two million CFA francs (about 4,000 dollars), for baskets.”

“A year ago, we were frightened and ashamed. Now, the shame has disappeared because we have work.”

In recent days, those involved in events at Ceuta and Melilla and several others have also had an opportunity to share experiences – this at a gathering convened by FORAM in the Malian capital, Bamako, to commemorate the events and discuss how to avoid having them repeated.

Survivors of desperate attempts to gain entry to the two enclaves gave moving accounts of their journeys northwards to Morocco through the Sahara desert, and what they subsequently underwent.

“We left our families and our countries with a burning desire to succeed…The idea to emigrate would not have touched our spirit if we had had work here,” said Alfousseyni Kampo, a young Malian migrant.

Observed Clarice Soh, a young Cameroonian: “In the desert, the suffering is indescribable; there are rapes, unwanted pregnancies, births, suicides.”

“In Morocco, we often rummage in dustbins to survive.”

The first two days of the Sep. 29 to Oct. 7 meeting were characterised by meditation, prayer and religious songs; according to organisers of the gathering, relatives of the victims of events in Ceuta and Melilla and others who died of thirst and hunger in the desert had expressed the need for this type of contemplation.

From Oct. 2 to 7, round tables and workshops were organised to analyse, on a country-by-country basis, the causes of African migration to Europe.

For Aminata Dramane Traoré, former minister of culture in Mali and a leader of FORAM, the exodus has its roots in the policies and structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

These programmes were introduced some three decades ago in a bid to improve the economies of states that had asked for assistance from the two financial institutions, and included requirements for privatisation, the elimination of price controls and lifting of trade barriers. Instead of leading to improvements, however, SAPs have often been associated with further economic decline.

To stem migration, said Dramane Traoré, it was necessary to “create conditions for work, eliminate subsidies and agricultural dumping, and stop the looting of the resources in Africa.”

Agricultural subsidies paid to producers in wealthy nations price their competitors in Africa out of the market. Cotton farmers in West Africa, including those in Mali, have been especially affected by support given to cotton producers in the United States.

Some partaking in the meeting also exchanged experiences concerning reintegration into society, while others denounced French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkosy’s policy of selective immigration – said to be contributing to the “brain drain” that is seeing many of Africa’s best minds leave for greener pastures.

“Sarkosy must not make a mistake about (what constitutes) war and enemies…Africans who leave for Europe are not criminals, but are in search of opportunities and justice,” complained Jean Kamta, a Cameroonian national, and manager of the ‘Victims of Emigration Reunited’ association (Victimes – émigration réunie). This group is made up of Cameroonian, Ivorian, Togolese, Nigerian and Ghanaian migrants.

The approximately 400 participants of the meeting also included José Bové – renowned opponent of genetically-modified crops and leader of the French Peasants Confederation (Confédération paysanne) – and relatives of two young Guineans, Fodé Tounkara and Yaguine Koita, who died while stowing away in the landing gear of a Sabena aircraft in 1999 as they were trying to enter Europe illegally.

Excerpt: