by nomo » Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:07 pm
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Lock up your daughters!<br></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5181080.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5181080.stm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Chirac warns of 'African flood'</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>French President Jacques Chirac has warned that Africans "will flood the world" unless more is done to develop the continent's economy.<br><br>In a TV interview, Mr Chirac said nearly 50% of Africa's 950m population was under 17 and that by 2050 there would be two billion Africans.<br><br>He said the necessary resources had to be made available to help Africa.<br><br>"We have an immense problem [in Africa] ... which is that of development," he said in the Bastille Day interview.<br><br>'Back to basics'<br><br>"If we do not develop... Africa... if we do not make available the necessary resources to bring about this development, <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>these people will flood the world</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->," he said.<br><br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41868000/gif/_41868604_africa_migrants2_map416.gif"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><br>Mr Chirac stressed the need to go back "go back to the basic issues with regard to immigration".<br><br>"One cannot solve a problem entirely outside its context, and the context here is north-south [divide]," he said.<br><br>Earlier this week, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said Europe had to be careful not to turn itself into a fortress just to keep out immigrants.<br><br>Addressing a European-African migration conference in Morocco, Mr Sarkozy said the so-called zero immigration concept was a dangerous myth.<br><br>Search for solutions<br><br>Delegates at the conference were trying to develop a common approach between Europe and Africa.<br><br>Proposals included tougher policing and action against human trafficking but also measures to deal with the poverty and conflict which drive would-be migrants to seek a better life elsewhere.<br><br>Last month, Spain announced a three-year diplomatic drive in West Africa to try to halt the flow of African migrants to Europe.<br><br>Nearly 8,000 Africans aiming to enter the EU have arrived in Spain's Canary Islands alone in 2006.<br><br>About 1,000 more are believed to have died attempting dangerous voyages in the Atlantic to reach the Canary Islands. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=nomo@rigorousintuition>nomo</A> at: 7/14/06 3:08 pm<br></i>
