A new report released by Border Forensics concludes that migrants have almost no chance of surviving when crossing the desert from Niger to Libya. Ever since the introduction of border control laws in 2015, migrants have been forced to take more remote and deadly paths, according to Border Forensics.
Border Forensics, an agency that uses spatial analysis to investigate practices of border violence, recently published an investigation on the consequences of new border control mechanisms between Niger and Libya. The collective, composed of researchers and geographers, has shown how crossing the desert to reach Libya has become increasingly deadly since 2015.
That year, Niamey adopted a law making transporting and hosting migrants illegal. Consequently, traffickers had to find new routes that were further away from the main roads and less visible to the authorities.
According to the Border Forensics report, the death toll in the Sahara Desert has never been higher than it is today.
InfoMigrants interviewed Rhoumour Ahmet Tchilouta, a member of Border Forensics and a PhD student in political geography at the University of Grenoble.
InfoMigrants: What techniques did you use for this investigation?
Rhoumour Ahmet Tchilouta: We used geospatial data. The aim was to measure the effect of the Nigerien law of 2015 on the routes taken by migrants through the Sahara desert.
We focused on the route linking Agadez, in northern Niger, to Sabha, in Libya.
We analyzed high-resolution satellite images to understand the new paths that migrants take in order to avoid the authorities. With satellite data, it is possible to obtain very clear images and see the smallest details very precisely. For example, you can see a wrecked vehicle or streams of people.
We also analyzed the risks associated with dehydration using a technique which is also used by researchers working on the route from Mexico to the United States.
We conducted interviews with drivers [members of an irregular immigration network responsible for transporting migrants in vehicles through Niger, editor’s note] who detailed the new zones of trajectories to us.
We compared these trajectories with the main routes and then we considered several factors — like elevation, heat or the wind. We also analyzed how much a person sweats, specifically how many liters of water a migrant will lose as they try to reach the main road after being abandoned in the desert.
With the accumulated factors, we can now say that the migrants abandoned in the Sahara Desert have no chance of surviving.
The migrants are too far away from main roads to be spotted and helped in the case of an accident. The human body cannot last that long.
In addition, by analyzing the field of vision, meaning the visibility or invisibility of the routes, we show the correlation between invisibility and the dangers that migrants face. The less visible the routes, the more deadly the situation becomes for migrants. The main cause of death is always the same: lack of water.
IM: In the report, you state that the “Sahara is an open tomb”. You write that bodies can be found months or even years after death.
Rhoumour Ahmet Tchilouta: In the Sahara desert, sandstorms and windstorms are frequent. Vehicle tracks disappear quickly. If you put an object in the sand, it quickly disappears.
The same rule applies to cadavers. Some remain buried forever.
Windstorms can also unearth bodies. There are very regular reports of macabre discoveries in the desert. We find dried up bodies, suddenly exposed by the movements of sand.
IM: Why do you carry out this type of research work and for what purpose?
Rhoumour Ahmet Tchilouta : The purpose of this investigation is to provide evidence. For years, journalists, researchers and organizations have said the 2015 law has caused a lot of suffering by making the road to Libya much more dangerous. Except there was no proof.
This report shows how border policies have accentuated the dangers faced by migrants on the road between Niger and Libya.
New empirical data of the mechanisms through which border controls have led to increased danger for migrants now exists.
There is also another objective: to highlight the violence of the migration policies implemented in Niger.
IM: Who is accountable for the increased death and suffering of migrants?
Rhoumour Ahmet Tchilouta: There have always been deaths in the desert but never as many as now.
The 2015 law in Niger has had devastating effects and the main actor responsible for the migratory dramas is Niger. Yet, without European and UN funding, Niger would never have been able to implement its policy.
One of the main partners in migration control in Niger is the International Organization for Migration (IOM): it is involved in the construction of border posts and the strengthening of Niger’s defense and security forces.
The UN agency is Niamey’s main partner. The EU funds the partnership.
European players therefore play an important role. The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa has provided about €300 million to Niger.
All actors operating in Niger believe the mission of stopping migratory flows has been partially accomplished. This is false, the policy has simply forced migrants to take increasingly distant and dangerous paths.
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