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US, European allies behind African migrant crisis: Analyst

Local residents and rescue workers try to help migrants after their boat sank off the island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, on April 20, 2015. (©AFP)

Press TV has conducted an interview with Edward Corrigan, a human rights attorney from Ontario, to investigate the main motives of migration among people in the African and Middle East countries.

Press TV: What do you think is the root cause of migration to Europe in such a devastating manner?

Corrigan: The reason is really economic and political. The European countries and the United States are very rich countries because they have exploited and have taken advantage of the third-world countries in Africa and the Middle East, particularly for the interest of their own narrow elites.

Libya, for example, was quite a stable and very prosperous country in the past; it had free healthcare, free education, and a lot of benefits for the Libyan population. There was no mass immigration from Libya at that time. But when the west weighed in and overthrew Ghaddafi, basically Libya was turned into a failed state. In this situation, people would be desperate to get out of that terrible environment. This [turmoil] in Libya is creation of the west, and exactly the same is happening in Syria.

The United States and its European allies are trying to overthrow the current regime in Syria. In fact, they do not care if they destroy the country, they do not care if hundreds of thousands of people are killed and millions are displaced.

In such a situation, people are going to go to a place that they have some sort of safety, not only for economic reasons but also for political ones. If you can provide your family with a safe environment, education, and food, then you are not going to risk your life anymore.

Press TV: How the world should address the problem of human trafficking and illegal migration?

Corrigan : We need to look for a sustainable model. If we spend half of the money that is currently spent for arms and promoting wars on this specific problem, then it would be solved. We need to seriously address this problem and to stop destabilizing political regimes around the world.

HRM/NN


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