Debt is the villain – not human smuggling
In this new article by DIIS researcher Sine Plambech she writes about how private debt – both related and unrelated to migration – has grown among the migrants whom she has been following for 15 years.
Although debt is a powerful motive for migration, debt is almost absent from the migration debate. Debt seems dry and boring compared with sensational stories of gruesome human smugglers and sex slaves. Yet, the reality is that migration very often is long-distance debt restructuring.
Of course it’s true: human smuggling and trafficking can be brutal. Both can be violent, even deadly, and are good business in the migration market created by the EU migration policy. Smugglers earn money because in order to finance the journey to Europe and to repay the old loans,many migrant families take out yet more loans to pay for the smuggling.
Therefore, Plambech argues, debt and bank policy are migration policy. Without addressing the former the root causes of the latter cannot be altered. Intercepting the smugglers and planning an anti-trafficking awareness campaign only treats the symptoms.
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