Borders: Between security and diaspora

The first quarter of this century has revealed to Europe its two greatest vulnerabilities: declining birth rates and immigration. We are the continent that is ageing faster than any other, and this problem cannot simply be solved by importing people from other parts of the world. Not least because, in recent years, this has largely taken place in an illegal, uncontrolled and harmful manner, costing the lives of thousands of migrants.

The real priority is to regulate the flow of people from Africa to Europe: much has been achieved, not least thanks to cooperation between individual European and African countries, such as under the Mattei Plan launched by the Italian government, but it is wrong to continue treating immigration as an crisis situation.

Today’s news reports focus almost exclusively on forced migration, tensions, hybrid wars simmering between states and rampant insecurity in European cities. But the issue must be examined from both perspectives. Whilst on this side of the Mediterranean we talk of illegal immigration, reception centres and crime, on the other side African governments must tackle the issue of the youth diaspora. Migration is an age-old issue, and demographic pressure is helping to exacerbate the problem.

Yet there is no shortage of historical examples of skilled migration that breaks down barriers and helps to generate wealth. In 1325, at the age of just 21, Ibn Battuta – born in Tangier – set off on a pilgrimage to Mecca. What was meant to be a religious journey turned into a three-decade odyssey, during which he travelled through more than 40 modern-day countries. His travels were part of his religious education, but wherever he went, his status as an expert jurist earned him hospitality, employment and social standing. He is a pre-modern example of how we should understand migration today, where skills cross cultural boundaries with ease.

Is it possible to replicate this model in the current climate? What steps need to be taken to foster fruitful exchanges across the Mediterranean in both directions? These are the topics of this episode of Confini, the programme produced by Sole 24 Ore TV and NextMed. The discussion took place alongside the presenter Simone Spetia and Claudio Antonelli, deputy editor of 24Ore NextMed, Marco Minniti, president of the Med-Or Foundation, the Moroccan ambassador to Italia, Youssef Balla, and journalist Karima Moual. A report from Morocco takes us into the lecture theatres of Mohammed VI University in Rabat.