THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Germany’s top court has ruled that a person cannot be deported to their country of origin if at risk of torture. A German-born Turkish Salafist had appealed his return, saying he would be tortured in his home country. Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe on Tuesday ruled that a person may not be deported to their country of origin if …
Read More »Nigeria warns Libya on maltreatment of its citizens
The Nigerian government has warned its Libyan counterpart against molesting Nigerians in the North African country. Abuja said it made clear to Libyan authorities that it has “zero tolerance” for such treatment. The warning followed reports of enslavement and maltreatment of Nigerians stranded in Libya. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known on Monday as another batch …
Read More »Mediterranean migrant arrivals in Europe drop by half in 2017
About half as many migrants reached Europe by sea in 2017 than 2016, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday, with curbs finally cutting traffic on the deadly route from Libya to Italy. Two years after more than a million people entered the EU, mostly fleeing war in the Middle East and poverty in Africa, the IOM recorded …
Read More »France received record 100,000 asylum requests in 2017
More than 100,000 people requested asylum in France in 2017, a “historic” number and an increase of 17 per cent on the year before, according to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA). In a statement on Monday, OFPRA director Pascal Brice said the figures show that “France is one of the top countries for …
Read More »Israel: Panic spreads among African migrants as deadline nears
Israel plans to deport thousands of African asylum seekers within the next three months. They have the choice of leaving for a third country or indefinite imprisonment in Israeli jails. The quit deadline fans fears among African migrants, reports Tania Kraemer. “It is a very scary moment and many people are simply in panic,” says Ghebrihiwet Tekle, a young Eritrean …
Read More »Nigerian minister, officials in Libya to evacuate stranded citizens
A Federal Government of Nigeria’s special delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, is currently in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to deliberate with Libyan officials on the evacuation of Nigerians trapped in the country. The Head, Press and Public Relations of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Josiah Emerole, said the delegation left the …
Read More »Migrant arrivals in Italy fall by 34 per cent in 2017
The number of migrants who arrived in Italy in 2017 went down by one-third compared to 2016, according to figures just published by the Italian interior ministry. A reported 6,340 irregular migrants were repatriated from Italy in 2017, according to the data. Migrant landings in Italy dropped by 34.24 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016, the Italian interior ministry …
Read More »Migration to EU to increase with global warming, new study says
A recent study published by Science magazine has once again highlighted a potential connection between climate and migration, stressing how, by the end of this century, climate change could lead to a significant increase in asylum requests in Europe. According to a recent study carried out by two researchers from Columbia University and published by Science magazine, climate change will …
Read More »Israel gives African migrants deadline to leave or face imprisonment
Israel has notified thousands of Africans who entered the country irregularly that they have three months to leave or face incarceration. The Population and Immigration Authority of Israel on Tuesday (2 January) issued a notice to about 40,000 refugees, most of them from Sudan and Eritrea, to leave the country. Those who leave by the end of March will be given …
Read More »German politicians call for tougher stance on asylum seekers
Ahead of this week’s new round of coalition talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU and the SPD, leading Bavarian politicians are demanding tougher measures against asylum seekers, including mandatory age checks, speedier deportations and benefit cuts. Charlotte Hauswedell reports. The interior minister of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann (CSU), has reiterated that deportations must be carried out more effectively, especially in …
Read More »Morocco smashes international migrant smuggling ring
Moroccan royal gendarmerie has dismantled an organized criminal group involved in irregular emigration to Europe through Libya, and in other serious crimes, including kidnapping and money laundering. Safaa Kasraoui reports. The authorities were after the gang since September 2017, following the arrest of two masterminds of irregular emigration in Beni Mellal, a city located in central Morocco. The two criminals …
Read More »Nigeria appoints airlines to evacuate its citizens from Libya
The Federal Government of Nigeria has appointed local airlines to repatriate Nigerians stranded in Libya. Following the global outrage that greeted the CNN footage showing African migrants being auctioned as slaves in Libya last November, President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to bring back Nigerians still in the North African country. He thereafter constituted a 17-man fact-finding committee headed by Minister of …
Read More »Why we continue to risk our lives in the Mediterranean – rescued African
Early on the morning of Boxing Day (26 December), rescue workers spotted more than 130 migrants stranded in the Mediterranean, some 40 kilometres off the coast of Libya. They were sitting in three small dinghies, ill-equipped for the windy winter crossing, when they were finally picked up by Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms. Despite the efforts of African and European …
Read More »6,672 Nigerians repatriated from Libya in 12 months
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday said a total of 6,672 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya from 6 January to 28 December. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja, made this known while receiving a fresh batch of 257 Nigerians who arrived Lagos from Libya. Maihajja lauded the International …
Read More »Germany: Study shows high proportion of migrants employed in high-skilled jobs
In Germany complaints have long been heard from employers about a lack of skilled applicants. Some said jobs could be filled by migrants, while others warned that approach was naive. A new study has the facts, reports Marion MacGregor/InfoMigrants. Large numbers of working migrants in Germany are in skilled jobs, according to a new study. The Cologne Institute for Economic …
Read More »Italy to send soldiers to Niger to stop migrants coming to Europe
Italy is to deploy hundreds of soldiers to a desert military base in Niger to confront people-traffickers who are blamed for taking Africans across the Sahara and the Mediterranean. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has said his country would send a “non-combat” military mission to Niger to help stop people smugglers from taking people to the EU. Special forces will …
Read More »France takes in first group of refugees from Africa
The first African refugees have arrived in France under a scheme to bring selected vulnerable people directly to Europe. The move comes amid UN, European and African efforts to stop treacherous Mediterranean crossings, and to head off illegal migration. Marion MacGregor/InfoMigrants reports. Nineteen Sudanese refugees arrived in Paris on Monday to be taken to a convent in eastern France. It …
Read More »EU: Asylum applications drop to 2014 levels, Germany remains top destination
Latest figures show an overall fall in the number of new asylum requests in the EU, compared to 2015 and 2016. Asylum is a form of international protection given by a state on its territory. It is granted to a person who is unable to seek protection in his/her country of citizenship and/or residence, in particular for fear of being …
Read More »German centre helping Ghanaian returnees opens in Accra
A migration advisory centre has opened to help Ghanaians to find jobs and opportunities at home, instead of attempting the often treacherous journey to Europe through irregular routes. “Nobody returning to Ghana will return as a loser.” That’s the message of the German state secretary for economic development, Dr Friedrich Kitschelt, to young Ghanaians who believe there are no jobs …
Read More »Only 3,100 migrants repatriated from Libya – officials
The European Union and the African Union say at least 3,100 migrants who were stranded in Libya have been returned to their home countries in the past two weeks. A new task force, which also includes the UN, aims to repatriate another 15,000 migrants from Libya by February, AP has reported. Following the CNN footage that showed African migrants in …
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