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Much is talked about the dangerous flight across the Mediterranean to Europe and argued, where people die again and again. However, there is one migration route that is even more lethal: the Sahara has become a mass grave for migrants.
Nobody knows how many people die on their way through the desert. But organizations like the International Organization for Migration (IOM) believe that it is at least twice as many as in the Mediterranean. Over 30,000 people have disappeared between 2014 and 2018 in the desert, estimates the IOM. Probably the numbers are even higher, because most bodies are never found.
The Sahara is the largest dry desert in the world, about the size of the USA. From West African Niger, the hub for migrants from West Africa, the routes through the desert across Algeria or Libya lead to the Mediterranean coast. The danger of getting lost in the endless sand or dying of thirst in the heat is great. Especially since 2015, the situation has been exacerbated by a law passed by Niger under pressure from the EU: the ban on people smuggling. Previously, it was normal business in the transit country to take migrants from the city of Agadez - the gateway to the Sahara - north.
However, the EU has paid millions to halt migration to Europe by declaring migrants' transport illegal. Around € 1 billion in development aid was committed to the government in Niamey by 2020 - it should make its borders tight. Anyone caught doing migrants for money today will face jail terms of up to 30 years.
Thus, while the official numbers of those traveling via Niger to North Africa have dropped dramatically, according to IOM by about 79 percent. But: the migrants are not gone. They only take more dangerous ways, off the border posts, far from villages and waterholes. "The migrants are still coming, but they use alternative ways where they are exposed to a much higher risk," said an IOM spokeswoman for SPIEGEL.
In order to do something about dying in the desert, human rights activists in the region started to build a network of helpers along the migration route in early 2017. Her idea: an emergency phone for people who get lost in the Sahara. "Alarmphone Sahara" is the name of the initiative that opened a small office in the desert town of Agadez in May 2018. Azizou Chehou has been running the initiative's office since February, which is part of a network of human rights groups in Africa and Europe. In the interview he talks about his work.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Chehou, you carry a cell phone that migrants can call when in distress in the desert. When did it last ring?
Chehou: That was about a week ago . However, it was not migrants who called but our contact person in Assamaka. He had found a group of migrants in the desert. Some of them had lost everything: their money, their luggage. They wanted us to help them.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: And what did you do?
Chehou: We could not do much, unfortunately, we generally lack the resources. We have a network of about 20 people in several villages and towns that are on the migration routes towards Algeria and Libya. They distribute emergency numbers to migrants who stop there on their way. So that they can report if they get into trouble in the desert. Of course, this is only possible if they have any reception. Our husband in Assamaka also has a motorcycle, so he drives around looking for people stranded somewhere. When he finds a group in the desert, he tells soldiers or NGOs nearby. We do not have our own vehicles for transport. That's why we depend on others to come with their trucks and bring the migrants to the next village.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What do people tell you why they are stranded in the desert?
Chehou: Many are deported by the Algerian government. Soldiers take them to the so-called Point Zero and put them out there, sometimes in the middle of the night. They point in one direction and say, "There's the next place". The migrants start running and lose their orientation on the way. You have no strength left or are dying of thirst. Often women and children are also present.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Even drivers expose migrants in the desert. Why?
Chehou: Since the transportation of migrants has been criminalized, the drivers are taking ever more dangerous routes. If their wagon remains on the track, many will cut and leave the migrants to themselves. Because they are afraid that soldiers will find them and put them in jail. As a teacher, I used to go to villages in the desert a few times a while ago to teach children there - on the way I have seen dead bodies of people who have not made it. It's a disaster.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Who are your contacts in the villages?
Chehou: These are very different people: traders, for example, who drive around a lot for their work. But we also have NGO employees, someone from the Red Cross. Or local authorities in the local committees. I'm a journalist and work on the radio, so I know a lot of people in the area. I try to convince them to join us. A few months ago we organized a workshop with them in Agadez to train them to help migrants and to document their situation. We have given them phones to let us know and take pictures when they are involved in rescue operations. I then record this in our office in Agadez and on our website. However, communication with the contact person is not easy: sometimes the phone balance is empty, or the connection breaks down. Our initiative has little money and we are struggling with many problems.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What happens to the migrants who are being rescued?
Chehou: If they are brought to the next town near the Algerian border, they must stay there until they are brought back to Agadez by the IOM. This can sometimes take days or weeks. And these people are often in a bad state of mind: they were mistaken for days without water through the desert, many are mentally confused. The other day we had a woman who was saved and just wanted to run into the desert again. Especially in such small villages as Assamaka, there is not enough infrastructure to properly care for the people. Our volunteers then try to reassure people, provide them with water and food. Or to take care that the injured are taken to the hospital. When people arrive in Agadez, most are sent back to their home countries.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Do the migrants come to your office in Agadez on their way to the Sahara?
Chehou: That was our plan, because we want to prepare people better for the dangers in the desert. We distribute flyers that say, for example, how much water you should take with you on the journey. Or that people should inform their families when they leave, so that someone is informed when they suddenly disappear. However, hardly more migrants come through Agadez. Because of the tightened migration laws, they are afraid of being arrested. The smugglers place them in secret hiding places outside the city. The new laws also make our work as alarm phones very difficult, because everything that is somehow related to migration is forbidden. Because I help migrants, I'm scared to go to jail someday.
This article is part of the project Global Society, for which our reporters report from four continents. The project is long-term and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
What is the project Global Society?
Under the title Global Society, reporters from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe will be reporting on injustices in a globalized world, socio-political challenges and sustainable development. The reportages, analyzes, photo galleries, videos and podcasts appear in the Politics Department of SPIEGEL. The project is long-term and will be supported over three years by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
Are the journalistic contents independent of the foundation?
Yes. The editorial content is created without the influence of the Gates Foundation.
Do other media have similar projects?
Yes. Major European media such as "The Guardian" and "El País" have created similar sections on their news pages with "Global Development" or "Planeta Futuro" with the support of the Gates Foundation.
Was there already similar projects at SPIEGEL ONLINE?
SPIEGEL ONLINE has already implemented two projects in recent years with the European Journalism Center (EJC) and the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The "Expedition The Day After tomorrow" on Global Sustainability Goals and the journalistic refugee project "The New Arrivals" Several award-winning multimedia reports on the topics of migration and escape have emerged.
Where can I find all the publications on the Global Society?
The pieces can be found at SPIEGEL ONLINE on the topic page Global Society.