ACERWC African Committee of Experts on the Rights & Welfare of the Child In certain circumstances, movement requires physical and mental strength as well as financial resources. While generally countries with high levels of poverty are likely to be a source of migrants who seek to improve their lives, emerging evidence suggests that as countries reach the middle-income status they are likely to see more people migrating within and beyond the continent – as people aspire to discover more and can afford to migrate.241 As pointed out by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), seemingly relative poverty occasioned by rising aspirations ‘combined with better opportunities and more attractive lifestyles elsewhere drive the bulk of African migration rather than absolute poverty.’242 This calls for a revisiting of the relationship between migration and poverty.243 The box below attempts to highlight this relationship as explained by the Economic Commission for Africa: Migration is often planned A growing body of empirical evidence from Africa corroborates the idea that also in situation of poverty and constraints migration is generally part of deliberate, carefully planned, and largely rational strategies by families in order to improve their long-term social and economic wellbeing rather than a stereotypical ‘desperate flight from poverty’. This also means that the poorest families are less like to be able to afford the costs and risks of internal, let alone international, migration. The aspect of poverty as a result of weak regional economies and its close relationship with human trafficking has greatly contributed to migration of both adults and children within the Horn-Africa.244 Poverty has led to increased number of adults and children migrating from the Horn Africa seeking ‘economic asylum’ in Europe,245 and other countries within the continent. For instance, Somalia is a state of ‘origin, transit and destination for mixed migration flows in and out of the East and Horn of Africa region.’246 The key push factors for migrants to leave the country are insecurity and poverty. Below is a story of a child migrant as captured by DIIS:247 “We are 6 in my family; my brothers are all older than me and they cannot find work in Hargheissa; there’s a lot of poverty and no jobs. They are trying to find something to do to help my parents, and I thought that maybe there were more opportunities for a girl in Djibouti. I had put some money aside, so I decided to buy a bus ticket and come here to look for a job, maybe as a housemaid, so that I could help my family.” Kadra, 14, Somali The economic intra-African migration patterns are not new on the continent. The historical review of migratory flows, especially between the Sahel and North Africa, shows that migration is 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 See for instance https://www.cgdev.org/publication/does-development-reduce-migration -working-paper-359 . Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Draft Report on the Drivers of Migration in Africa (2017). As above. Life and Peace Institute, ‘Migration and Asylum in the Horn of Africa: Causes, Factors and Possible Solutions’ http://life-peace.org/hab/migration-and-asylum-in-the-horn-of-africa-causes-factorsand-possible-solutions/ accessed 22 June 2018. As above. GIZ et al, irregular Migration from and in the East and Horn of Africa (2016) p 21. Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), High Risk Migration in the Horn of Africa: South- South Child Migration, Policy Brief April 2015 p 3. 52