Sociologist Bernau:

Remittances flow into food and education

Migrants from Africa (archive photo)

(Bild: AFP)

Remittances from migrants flow primarily into food, medical visits and education. "It is not recognized that without migration and remittances, thousands of villages would no longer exist," said German sociologist and Africa expert Olaf Bernau.

He was referring, among other things, to the current asylum debate, in which Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) described payments to the home country as "abuse". "How can migration be organized well for the benefit of both sides?" should be asked instead. The majority of payments to the migrants' home countries go towards basic needs, towards "seeds, a little more fertilizer, an ox, a small piece of agricultural equipment, something to ensure that the others can stay in the country," said German sociologist Olaf Bernau to the APA news agency.

The money transferred back sometimes goes towards seeds, fertilizer and agricultural equipment.

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

A third of the incomegoes home
On average, migrants from West African countries earn 1040 euros when they work. A third of this goes home, according to the UN study "Scaling Fences". "300 euros is really a lot for a West African country," said Bernau. "In (...) countries like Mali or Nigeria, there is no pension, health or social insurance, no unemployment benefit. You have to rely on mutual support."

Nobody wants to risk their life.

Soziologe und Afrikakenner Olaf Bernau

Forced to apply for asylum
As there is no possibility of coming to Europe as a migrant worker, those affected are forced to apply for asylum. Instead, Bernau suggests supporting the local school system in West Africa and giving young people the prospect of immigration opportunities at an early stage. This could be linked to language and preparatory courses and additional training in advance. "Then there will still be some who don't make it through the selection process and set off, but far fewer. Moreover, nobody wants to risk their life," Bernau is convinced.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 97.5 percent of West Africans stay in their country of birth. Of the remaining 2.5 percent, two thirds go to neighboring countries, one third to North and Central Africa, to the USA and also to Europe.