To be honest; it was a good read, but the argument felt unconvincing.
The main evidence for far right leaders rising over climate refugees was a single quote from one leader complaining that these are economic migrants.
This is after the bulk of the article refers to the economic welfare of the Senegalese being harmed by overfishing, and them going to Europe to support their families; which does genuinely sound like economic migration -- there's no evidence linking overfishing to climate change (rather than simply boilerplate corruption and poor stewardship that we expect from poorer nations); and the argument about crop harvesting durations doesn't explain whether a changed harvest period is harming the Spanish farms, or wether the season is now longer or shorter.
I am genuinely curious here -- is Senegal not undergoing economic growth, are the opportunities for people shrinking, not growing, are the causes of that linked to climate change, and are people fleeing these countries as a result of this, or just simply because they're seeking a better life in general?
The evidence to the contrary looks strong; Senegal is undergoing strong growth in GDP (15%/year?), Median income (doubled between 2011 and 2018, inflation adjusted), and has historically low employment at 3.72% (2021).
BZ852 t1_j9igj0q wrote
Reply to comment by npr in I spent a year preparing for a reporting trip from Senegal to Morocco to Spain. My team and I set out to connect three of the biggest stories of our time: climate change, global migration, and the rise of far-right political leaders. Now that we’re back, AMA! by npr
To be honest; it was a good read, but the argument felt unconvincing.
The main evidence for far right leaders rising over climate refugees was a single quote from one leader complaining that these are economic migrants.
This is after the bulk of the article refers to the economic welfare of the Senegalese being harmed by overfishing, and them going to Europe to support their families; which does genuinely sound like economic migration -- there's no evidence linking overfishing to climate change (rather than simply boilerplate corruption and poor stewardship that we expect from poorer nations); and the argument about crop harvesting durations doesn't explain whether a changed harvest period is harming the Spanish farms, or wether the season is now longer or shorter.
I am genuinely curious here -- is Senegal not undergoing economic growth, are the opportunities for people shrinking, not growing, are the causes of that linked to climate change, and are people fleeing these countries as a result of this, or just simply because they're seeking a better life in general?
The evidence to the contrary looks strong; Senegal is undergoing strong growth in GDP (15%/year?), Median income (doubled between 2011 and 2018, inflation adjusted), and has historically low employment at 3.72% (2021).