Carmen Chamorro: "Africa is the balance of the world"

In the latest episode of "De cara al mundo", on Onda Madrid, we had the participation of Carmen Chamorro, journalist, correspondent for several international media and secretary general of the International Press Club, who analysed the situation of migration caused by climate change in Africa, especially in Senegal, after the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's programme. 

What was the purpose of the working group that the Friedrich Naumann Foundation organised to visit Senegal?

The Foundation carried out a programme with the European Union with several MEPs trying to analyse the impact of climate change on immigration, and chose three foreign correspondents coming from the countries of Portugal, Italy and Spain, although my information was going to Canada. The aim of this programme was to conduct a field study along economic, socio-cultural and geostrategic lines. I was in charge of the latter. The idea was to follow all the meetings and all the missions carried out by the European Union and to gather information by contrasting sources from these three axes in order to obtain results.

I can say, from my part in security, that Senegal is a point of reference within these West African countries for its political and social stability and, above all, for the implementation of an anti-terrorist cell that was created in 2003 and which works very well, and also for the implementation of a law, the law on regular emigration, which has put the control of irregular immigration on the table. The problem facing Senegal in the face of global warming is the migratory flows that occur. First of all, the flows from the internal areas of the south to the north of the country, because the scarcity of water resources will affect agriculture, livestock and fishing. Then, later on, there could be a flow that would affect the European Union, from the north to the Canary Islands.

Macky Sall's government, which is part of a National Assembly made up of 165 parliamentarians, allowed us to attend several sessions where we could perceive the great capacity for consensus of all of them because they are focusing their work on shaping this law to control irregular immigration and, above all, on consolidating policies to grant employment to the younger population. Senegal is a country in which 70% of its citizens are under 30 years of age, so it is very important that young people are pursuing their studies and professions in the country and that they avoid being conquered by criminal mafias that engage in human trafficking. Macky Sall, its president, and the entire semi-presidential republic are struggling to contain its population. A population that is conceived as a brutal labour power. Nobody wants to leave their own country, unless they have a reason to do so. People want to live in their own country and not have to migrate, not have to embark.

This mission also allowed us to be with the boats in certain areas and to deal with Senegalese who had suffered the death of family members in the seven-day or so journey it takes to reach the Canary Islands. Others had returned and others were preparing to go in search of a better future. 

To what extent does Senegal need EU aid? 

I always think that Africa is the balance of the world, and Senegal is the gateway to success and to the economic, political and social development of the whole of Africa because it is the retaining wall. It is very important that agreements are established between the European Union and Senegal because the work of this country is really important in the sense that it is bordered by countries that suffer from the problem of the existence of armed groups that may move and that are transnational.

Senegal has oil deposits, liquefied natural gas deposits, precious stones, and this is a very striking note for the relocation of armed groups that are operating in the area. It is a question of increasing this security system of the Senegalese Armed Forces, accompanied by other missions of the countries that make up the European Union.

In addition, I would like to stress here the work of Spain in particular, and that logically this situation should not escalate. Senegal is in a safe situation for its own citizens, but at the international level, this wall of containment must continue. With all the problems that are occurring in the international context, liquefied gas and oil deposits are being discovered and must fall into the right hands. This cannot fall into hands that could provoke a problem that is already manifesting itself throughout the Sahel and North Africa. 

And, above all, we must prevent corrupt elements from using these raw materials, these riches that these countries have, for their personal enrichment or to finance the threats posed by terrorist groups and organised crime. 

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which is very committed to and has done exceptional work on liberal policies on this continent, is providing all the resources to prevent this situation from getting worse, because Senegal is a very rich country. Macky Sall is also the president of the African Union, which is why he has been chosen as a quite exceptional interlocutor when it comes to dialogue with Putin. He is the only one with whom the Russian leader has held talks and with whom he has had several meetings, two of them public and a third not.

If there is a lack of water resources, there is a drought in the southern regions and a consequent migratory flow towards the north. The Sahel area is very much conditioned by its seasonal changes. Everything that is global warming, everything that is climate change, can affect this flow of movements. Senegal plays a fundamental role and, in this case, what the Foundation has done is to put all these types of issues on the table with the help of MEPs and correspondents, because conflicts are triggered by this.

These conflicts in Africa are very important to shed light on, because if they are not told, they don't exist. There is not only a conflict between Ukraine and Russia, there are also other, quite important conflicts that are going to affect and will affect the European Union and that must be given light and space. 

The destabilisation of an area such as the Sahel affects countries further north such as Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia... Foundations such as the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and European institutions are helping Senegal to have the capacity to provide work for its inhabitants, to prevent an exodus and, above all, to provide stability. 

Here I would like to highlight an aid and cooperation project by the Spanish government in conjunction with the Italian government. It is a project that is providing a place and an outlet for Senegalese women who work in the exploitation of agricultural resources. We were able to experience and become aware of this marvellous project. These women were very happy because they had been valued and given a different role than in these countries. Women now have their own purchasing power and come home with their own economic resources. We were able to spend a day working with them and they were delighted.

As part of this mission of the European Union's Security Commission, led by Germany, they launched a report to which we had access, which speaks precisely of the role that the Senegalese government has to play in its struggle to increase the rate of employment among young people in order to keep them in the country, to give them ideal conditions and so that they do not have to move.

But we correspondents were also able to see in our various field studies that Africa moves within Africa. In the collective imagination of the European Union, it is considered that there are large waves of immigration from Africa to Europe, but in reality it is Africa within Africa. These reports revealed very singular data, such as, for example, that between January and August 2022, nearly 11,000 immigrants arrived irregularly in the Canary Islands. They said that crossing the Atlantic from the West African coast to the Canary Islands is considered the deadliest route in Europe. And if this is happening without any major effects of climate change, once they occur they are going to become a major threat. The role played by Senegal is a retaining wall, and it is a role worthy of note that this republic and its entire parliament are rapidly reaching consensus despite their different political formations, although the liberal one stands out above all others.