Photo credit: VOA
A school for children of migrants and refugees, founded in 2018 as an early response to the growing need, is a part of the program included in the 210 million euro accord the European Union and Mauritania brokered last year.
Daily Mail reports that the deal is one of several that Europe has signed with neighbouring states to deter migration. Others include funding of border patrol, development aid and programs supporting refugees, asylum-seekers and host communities.
The program is a response to rising alarm and anti-immigration politics in Europe. Nearly 47,000 migrants arrived on boats in the Canaries last year, “fueled by departures from Mauritania, even as flows from other departure points declined,” according to the EU border agency Frontex.
Almost 6,000 were unaccompanied children under 18.
Although tracking deaths at sea is difficult, the Spanish non-profit Walking Borders says at least 6,800 persons died or went missing while attempting the crossing last year.
Many have praised the initiatives that fulfill migrants’ and refugees’ needs However, few believe they will be effective in discouraging departures to Europe.
The president of the Organization for the Support of Migrants and Refugees, Amsatou Vepouyoum, the city’s leading migrant aid group, said, “We can’t stop migration. But through raising awareness, we want to improve the conditions under which people live.”
A children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, Bill Van Esveld, said, “Without literacy or numeracy, how can you advocate for yourself as someone who has human rights in today’s world.”
The Ministry of Education in a January directive affirmed that refugee children have the right to attend public school. However, that hasn’t applied to many migrants who don’t qualify as refugees and face difficulty in enrolling because they lack birth certificates, residency papers or school results.
The EU believes funnelling aid toward such initiatives is part of a larger plan to persuade people not to migrate. Some experts say it demonstrates a disconnect between political goals and on-the-ground realities.
Although both the school; and the Organization for the Support of Migrants and Refugees have had their work highlighted by the EU, member states and UN agencies, the school said it charges students based on what families can afford so it can pay its rent and provide utilities.
However, times are changing in Nouadhibou. community leaders and business owners worry that increasing competition for jobs has fueled suspicion toward foreign-born communities.
