Sometimes it needs a report to arouse a sudden realisation: that European borders are now in Africa.
Such is Expanding the fortress, published recently by the Trans National Institute (TNI) and the Dutch Stop Wapenhandel activist group. Okay, we knew that Europe is getting into agreements with African countries to keep those who seek a safe and better future at a distance. To be precise: in Africa. Dutch-Congolese writer and commentator Alphonse Muambi rightly observed in a recent tweet that Europe’s criticism of Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall between the US and Mexico is kind of hypocritical. Europe is doing the same through different means, but the effects are alike: more fortification. A link to the ground-breaking report is published in this magazine.
The good news? In the end restrictive policies and walls will not stop people from moving around. ZAM tirelessly works for a welcoming culture, building a world beyond ‘them’ and ‘us’, and not only because once in a while a child gets saved from falling from a building in Paris by an (undocumented) guest from Mali. People have a right to move freely, as Europeans do worldwide.
