The European Union has moved to reduce illegal migration of Africans to Europe in search of jobs. The EU hopes to create a job search centre in Bamako, Mali to help people find legal work in Europe and cut down on illegal migration.
According to the European Commission, the new centre would offer guidance on legal migration and help with job education and the hunt for work abroad.
The centre will also raise alertness about the dangers of illegal migration.
Every year, thousands of Africans try to make it into Europe illegally and many die trying. Reports claim that Mali has been chosen as an EU centre because the country is at the centre of well recognized migration routes. Thousands of Africans set off from the north of Mali each year across the Sahara Desert towards Europe.
They are often ill-prepared for the journeys and many die on the way, crammed into wobbly fishing vessels.
The rising cost of food and fuel has recently made life even harder for people in Africa and increased the number of Africans seeking greener pastures in Europe, legally or illegally. Reports claim that even university graduates have joined the cohort of migrants as there is a better chance of providing a daily bread doing menial jobs in Europe than hoping for a job in their countries.
The EU however believes that opening a migration centre in Bamako, Mali will help provide legal jobs for migrants and reduce the amount of illegal immigrants.
