[HN Gopher] Frontex Files
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Frontex Files
        
       Author : ruph123
       Score  : 168 points
       Date   : 2021-02-07 14:59 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (frontexfiles.eu)
 (TXT) w3m dump (frontexfiles.eu)
        
       | meibo wrote:
       | Why is lobbyism not a solved problem? Why is it not yet more
       | scrutinized than it should be? Peace and freedom in all western
       | countries is at stake because there is no accountability.
       | 
       | Is money that powerful? What else can we do than to vote
       | carefully?
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | ziftface wrote:
         | The only people in a position to reduce corruption have an
         | interest in it. It's a story as old as time.
        
         | 1MachineElf wrote:
         | Maybe it's just my own ignorance, but in the EU context, I
         | don't understand the difference between a company "lobbying" an
         | agency like Frontex versus a company having a "government sales
         | team" doing "customer outreach" to Frontex?
        
           | PeterisP wrote:
           | The usual definition of lobbying involves meetings with
           | various interested 'stakeholders' who are _not_ aiming for a
           | vendor /customer relationship; sales meetings and tenders for
           | goods or services are something separate than someone getting
           | their word in about policy.
           | 
           | One other thing that surprised me in this article is the
           | inclusion of "representatives of EU border control agencies
           | to these meetings, but also international organizations such
           | as Interpol, Europol and the OSCE, as well as representatives
           | from countries known for their brutal border control
           | policies" - I would definitely consider meetings with
           | relevant state institutions from EU countries (which are
           | partners of Frontex) and non-EU countries (which are
           | generally doing equivalent functions as Frontex) as something
           | entirely distinct from lobbying.
        
         | bberenberg wrote:
         | Because lobbying is currently a solution, not a problem. While
         | we see that it causes problems, formal lobbying structures were
         | set up specifically so that we can see what is happening.
         | Without the framework we have today, it happens anyways but
         | more in backrooms with less oversight. For example, if instead
         | of formal meetings where FOI requests can get access to
         | documents like listed on the website, this was all done at
         | someones home at a private dinner would we the general public
         | be better off?
         | 
         | To be clear, I agree that we need to improve the situation,
         | however ignoring that lobbying is better than what came before
         | it isn't particularly helpful. Influence is a core component of
         | social power structures. You can't legislate it away.
        
           | sdoering wrote:
           | As discussed in the Frontex papers, the problem here is, that
           | Frontex does not even comply with EU lobbying regulations.
           | They go around them as if these just don't apply to them.
           | 
           | So even if there are regulations in place, as long as
           | institutions not facing dire consequences for noncompliance,
           | the rational thing to do as a member of such an institution
           | is to ignore said regulations.
           | 
           | As long as the negative consequences of your actions are
           | minimal at best while some form of positive consequences are
           | very likely, why comply with regulations.
        
             | bberenberg wrote:
             | I absolutely agree. And we need to do better in terms of
             | enforcement. What I was trying to convey was that by
             | formally allowing lobbying it gives us more power to do
             | something about it. Same reasoning for why drug
             | legalization works better than prohibition.
        
               | sdoering wrote:
               | Absolutely. And the lobby register is a step in the right
               | direction. Albeit be it a small one.
               | 
               | More steps need to follow and strong enforcement.
        
         | jeofken wrote:
         | Governments are violent monopolistic organisations, and
         | lobbying is a natural reaction to this. No morality or value
         | creation is to be found anywhere near it.
        
           | xvedejas wrote:
           | Some governments manage to be less violent than others. I'm
           | not sure that that affects the degree to which lobbying
           | works.
        
           | brnt wrote:
           | Democratic goverment is the best way the people have at
           | organising their society.
           | 
           | Devolving power to organisations that by their nature
           | represent fewer than the whole population and aren't under
           | any form of democratic control are nowhere near what we
           | should want.
           | 
           | Unless you're a rich billionaire who can afford lobbyists of
           | course.
        
       | mperham wrote:
       | Sounds like the EU has its own ICE now?
        
         | finiteseries wrote:
         | Nah, they're not there yet. ICE has two separate parts,
         | deportations, and a mini FBI [0]. All federal agents, but not
         | dependent on the border.
         | 
         | This is like a federal CBP x Coast Guard that also works with
         | the Texas Border Patrol & Texas Coast Guard, the California
         | Border Patrol & Florida Coast Guard, etc
         | 
         | [0] - Homeland Security Investigations (small, quiet,
         | transnational), deals with e.g. cartels, movie piracy, the FBI,
         | child porn, while Enforcement and Removal Operations (big,
         | loud, domestic) deports. There is some tension.
        
       | odiroot wrote:
       | It's really worrying that there's some concentrated effort to
       | take Frontex down.
        
         | sdoering wrote:
         | Why is journalistic reporting on supra governmental entities a
         | concerted effort to take this entity down.
         | 
         | In a democracy journalism is the fourth power. It is a vital
         | part of checks and balances.
         | 
         | Using loaded comments to discredit journalistic reporting on
         | governmental misdoings feels somehow as if there is an agenda
         | hidden behind such comments.
        
         | emteycz wrote:
         | It's more worrying that there is concentrated effort to further
         | Frontex's power.
        
         | CameronNemo wrote:
         | Whenever a standing armed force is built up, you should be
         | worried.
        
         | arendtio wrote:
         | Frontex has been criticized for their methods for years and now
         | it becomes obvious that they are not just doing their job in a
         | morally questionable way, but also don't comply with EU
         | regulation. This is a step forward.
         | 
         | Just to be clear, I am not saying that there doesn't need to be
         | someone who cares about the border control, but the way Frontex
         | is doing it is just wrong.
        
           | tasogare wrote:
           | Frontex is being criticized for using shady methods but I
           | don't see any criticism towards illegal immigrants who aren't
           | respecting the immigration laws in the first place. Double
           | standards as usual.
        
             | j-pb wrote:
             | The difference between private citizens violating
             | administrative laws and government entities violating
             | humanitarian laws of their own constitutions should be
             | immediately obvious to you.
        
         | lampe3 wrote:
         | What is worrying about that?
        
       | finiteseries wrote:
       | _Why is it problematic for Frontex to meet with weapons
       | companies?_
       | 
       | "A new regulation passed by the European Parliament in the spring
       | of 2019 stipulates that Frontex is to have a "standing corps" of
       | 10,000 by 2027, and it is allowed to equip border agents with
       | handguns.
       | 
       | The problem is that no legal regulations permit members of an EU
       | agency to carry firearms."
       | 
       |  _Why are lobbyists so interested in Frontex?_
       | 
       | "...In addition: Since 2019, Frontex has been permitted to own
       | and acquire airplanes, drones and firearms."
       | 
       | -
       | 
       | So the concern is that Frontex is being "too forward" in
       | acquiring weapons it's allowed to own, but not carry for some
       | reason, while also being dishonest/misleading about meeting with
       | vendors, correct?
       | 
       | Biometric usage, and meeting with other border agencies instead
       | of human rights groups aside.
        
       | zepatrik wrote:
       | Wow this is just unacceptable.
       | 
       | > The Problem - Migrants (slide two in the gallery on the landing
       | page)
       | 
       | You know that this is an important topic because "ZDF (former
       | Neo) Magazin Royal" is behind that. They are an kind of
       | investigative satire format, unfortunately topics like these are
       | not too funny... But very good work from their side.
       | 
       | Frontex was always suspected and accused for not following any EU
       | moral and legal processes, this is just a proof and absolutely
       | unacceptable.
        
         | mimischi wrote:
         | I'd say they are the German version of "Last Week Tonight with
         | John Oliver"
        
           | usrusr wrote:
           | Certainly a very strong influence, much stronger now than
           | before the 2020 hiatus/reboot, but it still retains more
           | classic late show elements than Last Week Tonight (e.g. the
           | stage band)
        
         | morsch wrote:
         | The slide is part of the SafeShore project ( _System for
         | detection of Threat Agents in Maritime Border Environment_
         | [1][2]), which received ~5 million EUR in grants, the largest
         | beneficiary being an Isreali defense contractor. I'm not
         | entirely sure what it bought us, I'm certain it included a PDF
         | report and a few powerpoint slides.
         | 
         | One of many (MANY) grants under H2020-EU.3.7. _Secure societies
         | - Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens_
         | programme with a total budget of 1.7 billion EUR[3].
         | 
         | Another example chosen at random[4]: _Improving the
         | Effectiveness of the Capabilities (IEC) in EU conflict
         | prevention_ , 2 million EUR, beneficiaries seem to be
         | universities and think tanks. Another one? Ok[5]: _EfficieNT
         | Risk-bAsed iNspection of freight Crossing bordErs without
         | disrupting business_ , ~7 million EUR, 1.3 million of which
         | went to -- for some reason -- the French government owned
         | nuclear power research think tank CEA, other beneficiaries
         | include manufacturers of things like airport metal detectors
         | who apparently need millions of EU funds to improve their own
         | products.
         | 
         | The H2020 in H2020-EU.3.7. is Horizon 2020[6], the 2014-2020
         | research funding framework (2014-2020 was a EU budget cycle,
         | the current one is 2021-2027), which had an overall budget of
         | an "estimated EUR80 billion of funding".
         | 
         | What's my point? I have no point, really, I don't know a lot
         | about EU research funding in general or this domain in
         | particular, but it was interesting to look this stuff up and if
         | nothing else it's nice to see that these things are out in the
         | open for anybody to look up, even if virtually nobody does.
         | Given how much money is being _spent_ here, I can 't help but
         | wonder what kind of fraction of a fraction civil society is
         | spending checking up on all of these projects.
         | 
         | [1] https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/700643
         | 
         | [2] http://safeshore.eu/, defunct, apparently 5 million wasn't
         | enough to buy the domain for more than 4 years; working
         | snapshot from late 2020:
         | http://web.archive.org/web/20201128133711/http://safeshore.e...
         | 
         | [3] https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/H2020-EU.3.7.
         | 
         | [4] https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/653371 from the page
         | with all H2020-EU.3.7. programs
         | https://cordis.europa.eu/search?q=contenttype%3D%27project%2...
         | 
         | [5] https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/883424
         | 
         | [6]
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framework_Programmes_for_Resea...
        
       | quink wrote:
       | For a bit of a background for non-German folks and particularly
       | Australians... that's a "government-run", "federal" broadcaster
       | publishing this. Sounds like shooting your own foot? No.
       | 
       | The Basic Law of Germany, approved by the Western allies in 1949,
       | included telecommunications as a responsibility of the federal
       | government. And so the federal government thought to create a
       | television service to compete with those of the states. The
       | states sued and won in the constitutional court - saying that
       | telecommunications only referred to infrastructure and delivery,
       | definitely not the content (think fascism and communism as to
       | why). The resulting corpse was used by the states as a foundation
       | for a new broadcaster formed through a state treaty.
       | 
       | Germany is part of the EU and thus Frontex. The individual states
       | of Germany organised a sister organisation, ZDF, to the Federal
       | Republic of Germany itself and it isn't.
       | 
       | One reason I mention all this is because we've got a broken media
       | environment unlike Germany here in Australia with a vast amount
       | of media concentration. And the constitutionality of the ABC is
       | based on the constitution saying that telephones and the postal
       | service fall under the responsibility of the federal government.
       | The ABC isn't Australia Post or Telstra. Yet somehow we all just
       | went along with the premise. So this is what happened here in a
       | similar situation:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Files_(Australia) - a police
       | raid, the federal government applying pressure and a chilling
       | effect for all future publications. The top three options in
       | Australia for a 'stop the boats' leak like this would be 1. a
       | broadcaster under a massive _chilling_ _effect_ by the 'stop the
       | boats' government, 2. Rupert Murdoch or 3. Nine, with Costello in
       | charge, who was literally the deputy 'stop the boats' guy.
       | Horrifying.
       | 
       | So when I see comments like
       | 
       | > It's really worrying that there's some concentrated effort to
       | take Frontex down.
       | 
       | No, this leak comes from the constituent states of Germany being
       | concerned by a "superior" power doing things that they haven't
       | been authorised to do. Whether it's the Federal Republic of
       | Germany deciding to start a public broadcaster despite the states
       | (and Allied powers) not having agreed to that being its
       | responsibility or whether it's the European Union starting a
       | military (which it's not allowed to do) it's the same thing. It
       | might be a concentrated effort, whatever - it doesn't matter -
       | because it's a constitutional necessity. This leak here is an
       | extremely important part of the process that all "inferior"
       | constituent parts of something should engage in to keep the
       | greater parts in check.
       | 
       | Something the constituent states of Australia should take more
       | seriously.
        
         | Vinnl wrote:
         | > this leak
         | 
         | AFAICS it's not a leak, but a regular freedom of information
         | request. And I'm not too familiar with how German media works,
         | but if it's anything like the Dutch national broadcaster, it's
         | not actually the states that are pursuing this, but journalists
         | on their own accord.
        
           | quink wrote:
           | You guys need to be careful, having given the responsibility
           | for funding public broadcasting to the government. That's
           | dangerous.
        
         | snicksnak wrote:
         | > telephones and the postal service fall under the
         | responsibility of the federal government
         | 
         | Same thing as in germany, article 73 (7)
         | 
         | To be precise, this is not a leak, those documents were
         | obtained via EU's freedom of information law.
        
           | quink wrote:
           | You're right, I had missed that. I had watched the original
           | segment but evidently missed that part. Partly probably by
           | design because how the information was obtained and collated
           | kind of distracts from the subject matter.
        
         | conformist wrote:
         | In addition to that, German public-service broadcast is
         | supposed to be independent. It is not state-TV. Politicians
         | attempts to influence content and programming are generally
         | frowned upon. This is reflected in the supervising board and
         | television board consisting of a broad mixture of appointees,
         | both political and not [1]. The board does not have direct
         | influence on editorial decisions [2] (in German). [1]
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZDF#Supervising_board [2]
         | https://www.zdf.de/zdfunternehmen/fragen-an-das-zdf-108.html
        
       | krylon wrote:
       | EU immigration policy is a disgrace. We like to sneer at Donald
       | Trump and his supporters, but what the EU is doing in the
       | Mediterranean sea is just as bad as building a wall. Maybe even
       | worse, given the number of people that drown every year.
       | 
       | Letting hundreds of people die each year in order to "discourage"
       | others is no way to deal with this situation. In Germany, we put
       | former GDR soldiers on trial and into jail for shooting people
       | trying to flee into Western Germany. How is this different?
        
         | the_mitsuhiko wrote:
         | > In Germany, we put former GDR soldiers on trial and into jail
         | for shooting people trying to flee into Western Germany. How is
         | this different?
         | 
         | Frontex does not shoot people.
        
           | arendtio wrote:
           | Well, not yet but since they are interested in buying
           | firearms that future doesn't seem to be so far away.
        
           | krylon wrote:
           | No, they let them drown, they purposefully buy drones and
           | aircraft instead of ships so they do not have to rescue them.
           | 
           | It may not be quite the same, but it hardly measures up to
           | the moral standards the EU likes to claim to stand for.
        
           | guerrilla wrote:
           | > Frontex does not shoot people.
           | 
           | That wasn't the claim. The argument was that they kill people
           | and that we've punished border guards who kill people before,
           | so why not now. Shooting was just an example of killing.
        
           | lampe3 wrote:
           | So for you it depends on how you kill people?
        
         | blub wrote:
         | The EU has a quite reasonable (and rather lax) immigration
         | policy, assuming that people come to the EU legally or move
         | between EU countries.
         | 
         | People that get smuggled across the Mediterranean on a dinghy
         | are a very special case and bear the main responsibility for
         | their fates.
        
           | krylon wrote:
           | As TFA points out, Frontex routinely and systematically
           | ignores/breaks both European and international law. We do not
           | deny medical treatment to people that get in car accidents,
           | even if they caused the accidents themselves by driving
           | recklessly.
           | 
           | If the EU wants to keep migrants from Africa out, fine, but
           | letting hundreds of people drown each year in order so send a
           | message is not acceptable, ethically or legally.
        
             | blub wrote:
             | Maybe I missed something because I read with JS turned off,
             | but in the article I read, Frontex is accused of meeting
             | with lobbyists. Certainly fishy and morally dubious, but
             | hardly unusual for the EU or for Germany for that matter.
             | What laws are they _systematically_ breaking and how is
             | that connected to people drowning?
             | 
             | For the record the EU has an obligation to look into asylum
             | claims made in the EU and reject or accept them as
             | applicable. On the other hand, it turns out many are
             | approved even if not valid and the EU is barely able to
             | deport anyone, illegal migrant or not. Basically whoever
             | gets into the EU has a good chance to stay there, even if
             | they don't have that right, so it's no wonder the EU is
             | trying to deter more people from coming because this is
             | putting immense stress especially on Western European
             | societies and causing conflicts.
             | 
             | EU countries (and I think all countries) have a separate
             | obligation to rescue people in distress at sea. The fact
             | that someone is drowning in the middle of the Mediterranean
             | is not a concern of the EU, as crass as that may sound -
             | one rescues whoever is in trouble near one's ship. Still
             | the EU is going above and beyond and is also sponsoring
             | rescue missions that fish people out of the sea. Obviously
             | not everyone makes it.
        
           | lampe3 wrote:
           | Okay so how do you come to the EU when you from Africa?
           | 
           | Or if you are from the far east?
           | 
           | Please enlighten me.
           | 
           | Oh wait either you go through turkey where we don't even know
           | whats happening with these people or you get pushed back on
           | the Mediterranean sea by frontex.
           | 
           | yeah sounds super lax to me...
        
             | tasogare wrote:
             | > Okay so how do you come to the EU when you from Africa?
             | 
             | Go to an EU country ambassy and ask a visa like anyone. If
             | rejected, get the hint and don't come.
        
               | niczem wrote:
               | ... that also worked out pretty well in the 1930s for all
               | the jewish people trying to flee europe.
        
             | LunaSea wrote:
             | You apply for a visa like every other country in the world.
        
               | oytis wrote:
               | There are no visas for refugees.
               | 
               | Most of Europe indeed has very progressive law regarding
               | the asylum, but very hypocritical enforcement practice -
               | you can get a refuge or at least a permission to stay for
               | a prolonged time once you get across the border (even
               | "illegally"), but a lot of people are going to try to
               | stop you from doing that.
               | 
               | So basically what Frontex does is protecting Europe from
               | legal obligations that Europe voluntary committed to.
               | What's even more dangerous, it's not under control of any
               | single European government, so control over it by human
               | rights activists and through political means is
               | complicated.
        
               | blub wrote:
               | The people coming in aren't playing fair: many are not
               | refugees and are transiting safe countries (including EU
               | countries) to apply for asylum in their favorite country.
               | It's understandable that they're desperate, but the EU
               | doesn't have to accept that.
               | 
               | Of course there's a lot of people trying to stop them,
               | because what those migrants are doing is not according to
               | the spirit of the asylum laws and it's threatening to
               | seriously harm the social harmony of the countries
               | receiving them. A significant number of EU citizens do
               | not want migration from outside of the EU, unless the EU
               | benefits (highly-educated specialists, etc) and those
               | people integrate into their host countries. This conflict
               | has been smouldering within Western Europe in particular
               | for many years and I have the feeling that tensions have
               | been rising strongly in the past years.
        
               | lampe3 wrote:
               | Try that in a country where there is no real goverment
               | anymore or you are on the wrong side of history or you
               | just have the wrong religion or you don't have enough
               | money to buy a visa because you need to first bribe a lot
               | of people or your country is a warzone and there is no
               | gov anymore.
               | 
               | Yes you can apply for a visa but try that without any
               | papers...
               | 
               | Or if someone gangs have taken away your passport and
               | other ID documents...
               | 
               | Or someone comes to your home and threatens you that if
               | you don't fight for them they will kill your family...
               | 
               | yeah apply for a visa... which can take years... <irony>
               | good comment! </irony>
        
               | zokier wrote:
               | Seeking asylum and immigration are two very different
               | processes.
        
               | niczem wrote:
               | ... no sh*t sherlock?!
               | 
               | To legally claim asylum in a schengen state which has no
               | external border to non-schengen states you literally have
               | to fall out of the sky or travel into the country on a
               | tourist visa.
               | 
               | Guess what happens in the moment a crisis breaks out like
               | it happened in Syria? Yes right, all the wealthy northern
               | european states do not give out tourist visas anymore.
        
               | zokier wrote:
               | But the sub-thread was about _immigration_ policies, not
               | about _refugee_ policies. It is perfectly consistent to
               | have simultaneously lax immigration policy and harsh
               | refugee policy (or vice versa).
        
               | LunaSea wrote:
               | They aren't tourists to that seems to make sense.
               | 
               | They can however apply for refugee status in the closest
               | refugee camp outside of Syria, usually in Turkey.
        
               | niczem wrote:
               | But there is also no possibility to ask for asylum in an
               | embessy. Asylum is a right given by the constitution in
               | germany and its not possible to fullfill this right
               | because of the european border politics.
               | 
               | Sure you can go to turkey - where you have no chance to
               | legalize your status in mid- or long term. Where your
               | children are not allowed to go to school.
        
               | LunaSea wrote:
               | So because Turkey doesn't accept them Europe should?
               | 
               | A constitution doesn't allow for blanket emigration.
               | 
               | There is always paper work involved to justify and
               | motivate the request as well as quotas.
               | 
               | Countries can't afford to house and feed limitless
               | amounts off refugees.
        
               | blub wrote:
               | AFAIK the EU isn't neighboring any countries without
               | governments or which are a war zone. So in theory, there
               | should be very very few people seeking refugee status in
               | the EU - the odd individuals persecuted for their
               | political beliefs or religion. There's a process for that
               | which was working quite fine, before being subverted by
               | economic migrants trying to gain refugee status, or
               | actual refugees avoiding safe countries along the way and
               | applying in Europe. So ironically exactly those
               | persecuted people may have to wait much longer to clarify
               | their status.
               | 
               | The fact that someone lost their papers or had them
               | stolen is their problem. The EU isn't responsible for
               | solving everyone's problem, in fact the political
               | conflicts within the EU are mainly caused by EU countries
               | pretending that they can.
        
               | mrweasel wrote:
               | There's a huge difference between refugees, which is what
               | you'd be if your country is indeed a war zone. The EU
               | doesn't deal well with refugees, but let's face it, many
               | refugees also don't want to be granted asylum in Romania,
               | they want to do to France or Germany.
               | 
               | Part of the problem is that refugees and migrants mixes
               | at the borders. EU is also terrible at managing refugees,
               | mostly due to not being able to agree to distribute the
               | refuges equally across the member states. Of cause that
               | would provoke some people, because apparently Slovakia or
               | Bulgaria isn't better than living in a war zone, but
               | Sweden and Germany is.
        
               | emteycz wrote:
               | Yes, living in Slovakia can be as bad as living in a
               | refugee camp even for Slovak citizens. It's rather
               | obvious that people want to have better life, not the
               | same they had - especially given Slovakian attitude
               | towards non-white people.
        
             | c06n wrote:
             | I had a colleague from Cameroon (in Germany). He applied
             | for a study visa, studied here, applied for a work visa,
             | worked here, applied for German citizenship, got it. Same
             | for people from Egypt and Nigeria I have met.
             | 
             | People who claim there are not legal ways are ignorant or
             | deceptive.
        
             | liaukovv wrote:
             | Is africans coming to europe some sort of human right owed
             | to them by europeans?
        
               | Bouncingsoul1 wrote:
               | Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
               | states that "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy
               | in other countries asylum from persecution."
        
               | blub wrote:
               | The critical point is that people are traversing several
               | countries or seas to apply for asylum in the EU. This is
               | obviously not following the spirit of the applicable laws
               | which were designed for avoiding humanitarian tragedies
               | in neighboring countries.
               | 
               | Many aren't even persecuted, just poor, lacking education
               | and desperate.
        
               | liaukovv wrote:
               | Do they get to pick and choose where to flee?
               | 
               | This is way too broad to be useful
        
         | kyriakos wrote:
         | I disagree. I am living in Cyprus and we received 1848/mil
         | population asylum seekers in 2020 alone. We have by far the
         | highest number of asylum seekers of any EU country (more than
         | double from Greece which made the news). We really do nothing
         | but letting them walk in at this point even if most of them are
         | financial refugees from africa rather than war-torn areas.
        
         | iagovar wrote:
         | Go and rent a place in one of the many places that do receive
         | this waves of migrants. Talk to people.
        
           | arendtio wrote:
           | The problem is everybody is looking at the symptom and wants
           | to keep the poor people from moving to new places, yet nobody
           | seems to care about the causes why they are leaving their
           | homes.
           | 
           | One example is the European food industry that exports milk
           | products to Africa and disrupts the local economy, so people
           | loose their jobs. But instead of regulating our industries to
           | allow African countries to build up their own economies, we
           | ramp up our forces to let those poor people die in the moat
           | we call the Mediterranean.
           | 
           | Instead of looking at the migrants, we should ask, what we,
           | our organizations and especially our corporations are
           | contributing to the problem. After all, how many rich
           | migrants have you seen and how often are poor people the ones
           | who control the situation?
        
             | liaukovv wrote:
             | Shouldn't africans solve their own problems?
             | 
             | Isn't that what decolonialization was all about? I find
             | your point of view rather insulting, implying that big
             | white saviour must come and what? Build functioning society
             | from outside? Impose "correct" government? Maybe send waves
             | of missionaries to teach them how to live?
        
               | arendtio wrote:
               | In principle, you are right and this should at least be
               | done in cooperation with African states. But it isn't
               | about being a savior or missionary, it is about not being
               | a bully.
               | 
               | Simply letting advanced industries compete with local
               | farmers isn't going to work out. In Europe, twelve people
               | can run six farms with hundreds of cows each. In Africa
               | twelve people work with two cows. In addition, European
               | farmers receive subsidies, so that they work with lower
               | cost and can compete with Chinese factories.
               | 
               | I am not sure how much African politicians can do alone
               | about such dynamics. And as the migration problem shows
               | us, we have shared interests here.
        
               | liaukovv wrote:
               | We already have a success recipe in form of china and
               | other asian nations.
               | 
               | They start in position at the bottom of the economic food
               | chain and work their way up, acquiring know-how and
               | finding their place in the world. Charity is not
               | necessary and probably harmful.
        
               | malthejorgensen wrote:
               | Colonialism still exists in the form of lopsided trade
               | economics.
               | 
               | Most of Africa is not able to trade freely with EU,
               | creating a favorable economic situation for the EU. I'm
               | not sure the milk example is a good one, but historically
               | (post-colonialism) most value gained from mining in
               | Africa has been gained by companies in the EU -- not much
               | value gained for the African countries and citizens. This
               | is due to the lopsided trade agreements but also
               | corporate exploitation of the African countries.
               | 
               | The African countries needs our help in the form of
               | proper free-trade agreements, and in the form of us not
               | meddling with their natural resources.
               | 
               | Source:
               | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bilateral_free-
               | trade_a...
        
               | liaukovv wrote:
               | Europe deciding on both parts of trade agreements is
               | literally colonialism.
               | 
               | If africans don't like current trade agreements they are
               | free to exit them and negotiate with chinese instead.
        
           | lampe3 wrote:
           | Yes I believe they are pretty annoyed by all of them and yeah
           | they live in bad conditions.
           | 
           | But that enough for having an company that kills? people?
           | 
           | Maybe we should try to solve the problem in another way...
        
       | Tepix wrote:
       | Pushback has got to stop and the people responsible for it have
       | to face justice.
        
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       (page generated 2021-02-07 23:01 UTC)