The European Union should deal with migration by focusing on the roots of this issue and through the adoption of cross-border policies, said Hassan Belarbi Haftaloui, co-director of the University of Almeria and member of the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology.
He delivered a speech Monday in Seville, in the framework of the Moroccan cultural days in Andalusia, an event organized at the initiative of Al-Zarqali association, in collaboration with the Ministry of Moroccans living abroad and the Hassan II Foundation for Moroccans residing abroad.
The scholar, who won the emigration Prize of the Arab League, stressed that “Neither borders nor the imposition of visas can curb illegal migration to Europe, “noting that policies in this area” should not focus solely on security aspects but consider the human dimension of this phenomenon and also bet on the development of the African continent “.
Mr. Haftaloui said that despite the obstacles to legal migration, Africans are considered among the populations that move more in the world, despite the current global economic crisis.
According to the Moroccan researcher, forecasts indicate that the rate of immigration will not back down but will increase in the future with the changing travel patterns.
He observed that sending countries have relied on remittances from emigrants, indicating that the immigration of people also has drawbacks, given brain drain, noting that the output of immigrants with a level of higher study has negative impacts on the development of the issuing country.
In this context, Haftaloui stressed that Moroccans living abroad have a high degree of competence through training and experience accumulated in the countries of residence, which allows them to contribute to the development of their country Morocco. Experience has shown that, despite their economic integration and social and political development in the host countries, Moroccans remain attached to their homeland.
The Moroccan scholar has also stressed the need to open communication channels for the integration of migrants in host countries and the need to support their contribution to the development of their country of origin.
This relationship leads to a dynamic based on a win-win principle and allows consolidation of double identity and preserve the essential links in the host society as in the country of origin, he noted.
Mr. Haftaloui carried on by saying that when finally returning to their country of origin, immigrants face many difficulties, such as low wages, poor infrastructure and lack of adequate living conditions in comparison with the situation in host countries, recalling in this regard the programs implemented by international organizations supporting the temporary return to the country to participate in development projects, particularly in the field of training of human resources, as the program “MEDA “.
