It is true, we do not choose where we are born, but we can choose where we want to live! Why should a privileged group of people be free to move at will on the planet, while a cohort of those left behind should resolve to remain confined to a circumscribed space, under the pretext of regulating human flows? What continent has ever been populated without migration?   What country has been built without successive waves of migration? It is not because extremist, radical minorities who cannot tolerate differences, turn against everything that comes from outside, all that symbolizes the other, that we should cast anathema or stigmatize foreign communities.

It is not always with joy of heart that people leave territories where they were born and raised, leaving behind family, friends and other human security, in short all that is dear to them here on earth, to go on an adventure of trying to live in places  that they hope are more lenient. The ambition that drives men and women, young or old, to move from point A is matched only by the sense of humanity, solidarity and fraternity that they hope to find at point B.

Fleeing the horrors of war or ecological devastation has become the other reason that pushes so many humans all over the face of the earth today to seek an “elsewhere”.

If today many young people leave the African soil to go to Europe in particular, it is also because a certain myth remains maintained around these destinations. And their disillusionment with the irresponsibility of their governing elites does not help to mitigate its effects.

It is because a whole false narrative  is built around migration with its procession of dreams cleverly maintained and sold, that the question is interesting. As long as the debate remains biased, passionate and economically profitable for some, the desire to leave will persist among these young people who have convinced themselves that there is no other future  for them. The perception that the whole African continent wants to land in Europe, if that  wasn’t already the case, lies thus on the misfortunes of these boats at sea or off the coast with utter malice.

Therefore, we will have to break all these myths and deconstruct the narrative around the migration issue. According to the United Nations, the number of international migrants worldwide was at 272 million in 2019.  And contrary to what the mainstream media and the various political camps that make their  money on the issue think, between 60 and 90% of migrants (depending on the region) move to a country located in the same geographical area. In Africa, for example, 80% of migrants do not leave the continent. However, information disseminated tends to suggest otherwise.

From a human issue perspective, migration finds itself at the center of cleavages, political and social issues with the resurgence of xenophobia and populism, whose first victims are always migrants. These stigmatizing attitudes end up dehumanizing migrants. They are  talked about more as “vulgar packages” that we often do not know what to do with.

There is therefore a crying need to have more accurate information on this issue in order to bring the subject back to its proper proportions, to the level at which it must be treated: as a human question. From war to climate change, from economic poverty to ethnic-racial discrimination, the causes of migration are multiple. The “self-serving” treatment of information related to immigration fosters the popular imagination and feeds clichés. 

Everything is done so that the migrant is perceived as a burden, one that can be easily indexed to make him/her the source of all evil. We never speak of the migrant as the one who enriches the world, promotes cultural and religious exchange, and brings people together. We never speak of the migrant as the one who sustains economies, sacrifices him/herself for host nations, etc…

Dialogue Migration’s mission is to talk about all these deliberate omissions and at the same time to ensure a balanced and posed treatment of migration issues without seeking sensationalism. Particular emphasis will be placed on women and minors. The aim is to provide the public with the most accurate and equitable information that will be consistent with respect for human rights and human dignity.

From Dakar to Goma, via Conakry, Nouakchott, Cotonou, Ouagadougou and Niamey, our seven content producers and fact-checkers will share another facet of the phenomenon with stories that best reflect reality and that contribute to humanizing the migration. Working together, to break a myth, the myth!