Behind desert and barbed wires

Why do an average of seven out of ten Africans prefer to leave the sunny countries where they grew up, away from family, friends, and familiar surroundings? Why do tens of thousands risk death to get away, even from countries where there is no war? Which African leaders chase away their own citizens and why?

After more than twenty years of working with African investigative journalists, Evelien Groenink covers their stories of looting regimes and fenced mining, of forced village relocations, warlords and rebels, of women smugglers and civil servants threatened while doing their jobs; of oppression and hopelessness, exodus and resistance. She also confronted development experts in The Hague, Brussels and South Africa with the key question: what does Western "aid" to Africa mean, and, when all is said and done, who benefits?

The essay "Western partnerships with despots are turning a continent into a concentration camp," published Dec. 6, 2023, by Mo* and Apache, is a prelude to a book that Groenink is still working on.