Migration has become a defining feature of our era. In this wave of migration, people from the Horn of Africa have been one of the major groups attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean, or oil-rich Gulf countries by crossing the Red Sea. The European Union and its African partners’ narrative that was developed as a result of the migration of Africans, focuses on the figure of the people smugglers. This narrative portrays the smugglers as criminals who are responsible for the increased flow of migration, while the migrants are portrayed as vulnerable human beings who are tricked into leaving their homeland. This narrative, while being instrumental in the project of reinforcing borders, masks complex historical and contemporary social and political dynamics. In doing so, it contributes to the reinforcement of social boundaries and the emergence of racial and religious boundaries. To achieve long-term peaceful interaction, Europe and its African partners should engage in the development of an alternative narrative that unmasks the different complexities that the current narrative conceals. This policy brief outlines some of the ways of developing an alternative account of migration and what should be included and considered for developing a narrative that better reflects migrants’ realities.
Download PDF: UN/ Masking Narratives: An Alternative Account of Horn of Africa Migration (679.5 KB)