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lemonyonce t1_j9ga9y2 wrote

Hi Ari! As an African living in the US I appreciate you guys reporting on this subject given the disproportionate effect climate change and migration are having in Africa and other non-western countries who did little to contribute to the problem.

My question is, do far-right politicians in Europe and the authorities exhibiting racism in places such as Morocco know the true situation that immigrants and refugees are running away from? Or are they of a mind that the immigrants risking their lives trying to get to Europe are simply going there to take advantage of "benefits" that they "don't deserve"?

I ask this because the way immigrants, especially black immigrants, are treated it is as if we aren't human. Ukrainians are rightly welcomed in and around Europe because Europeans understand the circumstances that they are going through and they have empathy for them. But for Africans going through similar trials and tribulations, whether it's war, famine or climate chnage the same grace isn't afforded to them. So do Europeans and Morrocans fully understand what is happening in places such as Senegal that is prompting young men and women to leave everything they've ever known or do they just see them as leachers and parasites invading their respective countries?

Thank you for any asnwer!

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npr OP t1_j9hahtv wrote

We visited a town in Southern Spain called Palos de la Frontera just after the day that the US calls either Indigenous People's Day or Columbus Day. We didn't see Spain making any over effort to re-assess the legacy of colonialism in the way the US has. Colonialist attitudes can be hard to uproot. Put another way - racism is real. In Spain, the population is overwhelmingly white. European politicians have a lot to gain by portraying people from Africa as invaders. But of course this isn't unique to Spain, or even to Europe. Donald Trump began his first presidential campaign with the racist claim that Mexico was sending rapists to the United States. One of his most frequent applause lines as president was that he would build a wall along the southern US border. One reason we wanted to do this project is because these themes are playing out all over the world. To me, whether political leaders believe their talking points is almost less important than the impact those policies are having on the world.

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lemonyonce t1_j9ixtys wrote

That last point is very well put! Thank you for taking the time to answer, I appreciate it. Journalists are the lifeblood of democracy keep up what you're doing!

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Mob1lis_in_mobil1 t1_j9mu0ve wrote

Isn’t immigration from Africa basically inevitable due to the amount of corruption/mismanagement/wealth disparities mean that in many places they simply aren’t going to support the sheer number of people being born…?

Just like Latin America: very high birth rates and people leaving for better opportunities elsewhere.

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FillLoose t1_j9n6zx9 wrote

If I understood your statement correctly, Spain is one of the European countries that think of Africans as invaders. Kind of ironic considering the Spanish Conquistadors culled the native populations (Aztecs, Mayans, Inca, etc.) of what is now Central America and South American many centuries ago.

Keep up the GREAT work Ari Shapiro!

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Less_Service4257 t1_j9jpls8 wrote

Western Europe generally opposes immigration from Eastern Europe. Even with massive pro-Ukraine media coverage, grudging acceptance is based on a) immigrants being mainly women and children since fighting-age males are conscripted, b) the expectation they'll go back once the war ends.

You pretty much have the situation backwards - as a general rule, the worse a country is, the less supportive people become of free travel, for reasons I assumed were obvious.

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