Migration at any cost?

30 June 2014 - In this month‘s newsletter we shine the light on migrants. In spite of their increasing presence, migrants and their contributions to home and host societies remain largely unknown and misrepresented.

From the French football star Karim Benzema, who doesn´t sing the national anthem at the World Cup in Brazil, to Moussa Diouf whose pearl hen was the biggest obstacle when he crossed the Mediterranean from Senegal to Spain, we have taken a closer look at some of the aspects of migration.

We find out the importance of remittances, which in 2013 amounted to three times the global official development aid (ODA), and how money is sometimes sent through a trust based system called “Hawala“, avoiding the fees of the wire transfer firms which sometimes amount to up to 12%.