Migration is not slowing down, recently many people have come from North Africa. Minister Gerhard Karner (VP) therefore traveled to Egypt.
The flow of refugees does not stop, it is the fault of unscrupulous traffickers who promise people everything, rob them without mercy and often transport them in dangerous circumstances. According to the interior minister, countries like Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt were recently added to classic countries like Afghanistan and Syria. In eastern Austria, “sharp action” is used in the fight against people smugglers.
As Egypt is an important country on the African refugee route, the number of asylum applications in Egypt has skyrocketed. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner therefore met with the National Coordinator against Trafficking in Human Beings and Illegal Migration in Egypt, Naela Gabr, on Sunday, on the sidelines of her visit to Egypt. The topics covered were the migratory situation in Egypt, the exploitation of irregular migrants, migration routes to Europe and the fight against human smuggling, human trafficking and illegal migration.
Victims talk about smugglers
The coordinator sees an important lever in informing potential migrants about the dangers. Egypt also works closely with NGOs here. Austria supports this campaign together with IOM, the United Nations organization for migration. The Aware Migrants campaign (see also the series of images) focuses on real victims of smugglers and wants to educate them with leaflets and the Internet. In the clip, a real victim talks about the smugglers’ promises and deceptions – click here to see the clip.
Interior Ministers Gerhard Karner and Naela Gabr also discussed intensified cooperation between Austria and Egypt. Possible future projects include training courses for Egyptian police, training courses in border management and combating human smuggling, as well as a know-how exchange with Austrian experts. These projects must now be developed and implemented at an official level.
Interior Minister says yes
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (VP): “We can only fight smuggling and illegal migration together. Egypt has been proving for many years that it is possible to prevent tugboats from sinking and to avoid certain death for migrants. We want to expand our cooperation with this partner in the future.”
Refugees who have been brought into the country by smugglers are being picked up almost every day in Lower Austria, Burgenland and Vienna – more on that here and here.
Browsing account lie Hora03.07.2022, 14:43| Act: 07.03.2022, 14:49