Mass immigration makes us focus on its consequences, instead of its source: the need for a sectoral approach to create sustainable job employment
With the rise of mass immigration to Europe, especially during the last years, the debate on how to cope with it, both within individual nation states and on European level, has hardened. In this article, I will not attempt to share my five cents on that specific debate, but I will focus on the context in which it takes place nonetheless, to clarify the field in which I believe the only sustainable solution is present: by creating economic opportunity in the countries of origin themselves. First I will present the two main contexts of this story, and I will end by presenting the pilot program which is currently underway and, if successful, may hold in itself the best possible solution: creating jobs “sur place” by sharing knowledge and expertise from experts with decades of experience in their field. Although my focus remains solely on the African continent, I will explain my motivation for it in the second context.
Context I: Europe: how the times have changed the mood
After having fought two World wars which left countries devastated and economic growth a must, there existed a considerable need in Europe, and a general goodwill, to take in immigrants. However, this willingness is difficult to find nowadays.
Forcing upon an open zone policy by the European Union, this has led to high levels of (illegal) immigration, going up to millions of refugees, mostly from the conflicts in the Middle East. While refugees should and must remain to be able to settle in European countries, the difficulty in assimilating refugees and economic migrants (without even considering the difficulty of identifying one from another) and how to divide the responsibilities which come with it, has led to deep divisions within Europe, especially between the West (France and Germany) and the East (Poland and Hungary for example). Furthermore, the integration programs in the individual member states and their possibilities of creating economic opportunity for newcomers is not even close enough of being basically effective, considering the high amount of migrants coming to Europe and the lack of basic resources to cope with that amount. The growing anti-European resentment at having to acknowledge the rules of (in their view) an elite of Eurocrats, also diminishes the general will among ordinary citizens to help facilitate the integration process, with an almost inevitable consequence that parallel societies are rising within the European member states. Again, this is the context of which I consider Europe finds itself at this particular point in time. I do not pick sides here, since all parties agree at least to a minimal level that uncontrolled mass immigration is a huge problem which needs to be dealt with. Although I do not know how this will envelop within the boundaries of Europe itself, I do believe that the only contribution to have any influence on the matter is to look at the why of the story, and not the what. And that takes place in Africa.
Context II: Ex Africa semper aliquid novi: Out of Africa, always something new (Pliny the Elder)
Although the present would force you to look at all directions of where immigrants are coming from, my focus remains on Africa, especially if you consider the estimates on future population growths around the world.
Between 2015 and 2050 estimations are that the world population will grow from 7.3 to 9.7 billion people. Although the figures may vary from one estimate to another, a clear development can be detected: that the population growth occurs mostly in development countries, and countries with emerging economies.
In Africa alone, estimations are that the population in the next fifteen years will grow with more than one billion people. This presents opportunities for foreign countries for conducting export and investment, but mostly difficulties overshadow this picture: this population growth, combined with a constant lack of raw materials and ecological problems, also contains negative consequences which could form a possible breeding ground for new conflicts resulting in more migration waves, affecting an already fragile balance of the status-quo in Europe.
Although many African countries have stabilized politically and are showing promising economic growth statistics, there is still a strikingly long way to go for the entire African continent to provide economic stability and prosperity to all of its people, in particular the growing number of educated young African people entering the job market and who find themselves unemployed due to the lack of sufficient jobs. A considerable majority of young people enter into clandestine informal activities to gain at least some income, while another considerable group migrates (resulting in the so-called “brain drain”).
Despite the amount of international aid efforts of various institutions and NGO’s over the years, I find that a real sustainable, long-lasting effect is often lacking. No matter the potential of an idea, the approach is often focused too much on small-scale individual cases for it to be really effective, or the structure in which a project was run was dominated by corruption and political difficulties. I believe that the solution lies in combining these two challenges: adopting a sectoral approach for your result to have greater impact, and through creating a strong local network, gaining a political backing. Yet how to achieve this? The answer is actually pretty simple: focus on the basic needs of people, to remain outside any possible political (and sometimes religious) restriction. Food. Water. Hygiene. No matter if you are white, black, red or purple, Muslim, Atheist, Catholic or Hindu: if you do not eat, you are hungry. If you do not drink, you are thirsty. If you are dirty, you have a bigger chance of getting sick.
The fast growing urbanization in Africa, combined with a rapid general population growth, leads to poor urban management since resources to cope with this challenge are limited. The consequences are cities littered by smoking and growing heaps of garbage, creating serious environmental dangers and health risks. The challenges look daunting. However, by making a significant contribution to socio-economic growth by sharing knowledge and expertise from experts from abroad, innovative solutions are possible and the road to economic recovery for an entire sector can begin. A pilot program which is currently ongoing in Niger, might prove to be the jumpstart towards this new form of international cooperation.
Creating employment opportunities in waste treatment and recycling for youth and women in Niamey, Niger: A programmatic approach
Niger, according to the World Bank and the IMF, is classified as one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Located in the Sahel region of Africa, it has a very dry and hot climate. Besides being one of the poorest countries in the world, it is also one of the countries with the highest population growth.
Niamey can be exemplary for African capitals, in the sense that there is a significant lack of a structured waste collection and processing program. This presents on one side a problem, like the widespread waste through the city and health risks for the inhabitants. The waste heaps provide a fertile breeding ground for all kinds of vermin and many livestock, such as cows and goats, are eating the garbage, which also contains paper, cardboard and plastic material. Children are looking for reusable items through the heaps, without any decent form of protection. To minimize the amount of waste, these heaps are often set on fire. However, due to the presence of moist, salts and plastics in the garbage, in combination with the relative low burning temperatures, this produces toxic dioxins which spreads over the city, forming a sizable threat to the health of all inhabitants.
On the other hand, this presents also a variety of opportunities, since the improvement of waste collection, processing and recycling not only diminishes these health risks but can also create new jobs and business initiatives. This asks for a thorough and pragmatic approach to obtain a maximum impact. Although this pilot program has just started and only in one commune (district) of Niamey, the potential of this approach can, if successful, be spread to the entire city and be used as a blueprint for multiple regions in the world facing the same problems concerning waste management.
Opportunities for change: an example of a programmatic approach towards separation and recycling of waste (Pilot)
A fact-finding mission to Niger was organized to tackle the many challenges facing this problem. Worth a separate article in itself, I will describe in short the general context and the solutions presented to improve the waste value chain in the city.
Studies made on the subject show that the garbage in terms of weight consists for more than 50 % out of sand. The second part consists of organic waste, and the last part consists of plastics. In terms of weight, plastics make up a small 10 % of the total.
The first recommendations are made for separating the sand from the rest and reuse it after processing, which would mean that already half of the waste problem could be solved. Also it is being researched how to separate the organic waste of the remaining waste total and reuse it after processing. It leads to a significant decrease of residual waste which can facilitate the waste management for the separate districts of Niamey to logistically dispose of the remaining waste to a central depot for processing.
Waste problem no I Sand: used for filling applications
As we speak, it is being researched which types of sieves can contribute to separate the sand parts and guarantee a steady quality of sand, without containing contaminants like goat droppings. The right specifications for the sieves is one of the main results that the pilot is expected to deliver.
Waste problem no II Organic waste: replacement for imported fertilizer
The second result which the pilot is expected to deliver, is if the organic waste material can be reused as compost in the warm and dry Sahel-climate. If it proves to be successful to produce a high quality compost, this can replace the costly venture by the Ministry of Agriculture of importing fertilizer from abroad. Here is the political backing for this sort of program: to create even the possibility of success on sectoral level, it is imperative that the responsible Ministries underline the importance of it, in this case the need for improving the agriculture and horticulture in Niger.
Waste problem no III Plastics: used for plastic paving tiles
After separation, the remaining plastic component is melted down by using molds in the shape of pavement stones. After solidification, they can be used for paving pavements, squares and streets. In addition to a very well-applicable product, this results in considerable volume reduction of waste as well.
The advantages are:
1. A significantly improved and functioning waste collection (since the waste volume is drastically reduced) and thus contributing significantly in reducing the air pollution and environmental damage (of the surface and groundwater) in Niamey;
2. The creation of employment opportunities. The pilot itself creates jobs for approximately 35 persons (target group are unemployed youths and women), yet if this pilot proves to be successful for it to be adapted for the entire city, an estimate of more than 4.500 jobs are created. This also means, having created a then successful format to tackle this huge problem, that it can be applied in multiple regions around the world, creating even more employment opportunities there;
3. The introduction of new recycling methods results in the production of new items such as filling sand, compost to replace imported fertilizer and plastic paving tiles, which also generates income from the waste processing, which is important for creating sustainable job employment.
The pilot stands for a new sectoral approach towards one of the crucial themes of today (the waste problem). I believe this pilot forms the solution in creating sustainable job employment, and can open the door towards tackling other major themes on a sectoral scale in development countries.
I’ll eagerly await the second part of 2018, to know it for sure.