African Migrants Taking Action

by Dunja Deveci, Mariña Fernández, Borja Escuer, Julia Seemann

Life for African migrants within the EU can be challenging.The great majority came to the EU expecting a better life not being aware of all the difficulties they have to overcome first. Now many of them are taking action in order to improve their situation, whether it being bad housing conditions in Paris or Italy or getting a working permit in London or France.

In London African immigrants found a way to work without having any proper papers. They simply become somebody else by “cloning”. Cloning describes the act of borrowing the documents of someone who is legally allowed to work and live in the United Kingdom and then basically becoming that person. Crucial is that the two people resemble each other. Later they would use the borrowed documents when applying for a job and that get a new identity. Although this has often worked in the past nowadays cloning has become nearly impossible because prosecution has tightened. Many undocumented migrants have now united to fight for their right to legally earn their living and getting a working permit.

Meanwhile in Paris undocumented migrants also joint forces and are now raising their voices to fight for their rights. Together they start petitions and organize demonstrations where they claim papers for themselves. The reason for that are the policy changes which made it almost impossible for undocumented people to find work or a home. Many had a job but lost it because of high charges for those who employ them. Also, the need for uneducated workers went down after the economic crisis. Without papers those people can not find a job or get help because officially they do not exist. Many undocumented migrants came from former french colonies in Africa. They have a strong feeling that France is partially responsible for what is happening in their countries and caused them to flee. Now they demand France to step up and take responsibility by giving them papers so they can work and built a life in their new home country.

Another issue that needs to be addressed concerning migrants in Paris are the poor housing conditions. About 90 percent of the unsafe houses in Paris are being lived in by immigrants. That is because housing in Paris is very expensive. For a nine square meter apartment you would have to pay approximately 200 Euros which is a lot, especially if you are a migrant without a steady job. The organization Malaika tries to improve this situation. They do this by installing smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in the houses. Furthermore they train people for emergencies. That way they improve the living standards and prevent deathly accidents.

Also in Italy African migrants fight in order to improve their housing conditions. Recently the populist party in Italy introduced a new law that prevents illegal immigrants to get a permanent residence. Without a permanent residence those migrants have no chance of getting employed.  An example is the Senegalese Prealpino community. In this community Senegalese migrants lived and even worked in a building they did not rent legally. After the new law was introduced they were evicted and the building was demolished. They decided to fight and occupied a building crane for 16 days. Eventually the government caved in and annulled the law.   

These examples give us an impression of the difficulties illegal migrants have to face in Europe. The European Union does not help them by closing its eyes and pretending they do not exist. Apparently many changes need to be done in order to find a permanent solution for this highly important issue.

[600 words]