Out of Africa: Just who are these emigrants and why do they leave?
In this video grab released by the Italian Coast Guard (Guardia Costiera) on April 17, 2015 illegal African migrants sit in a boat during a rescue operation on April 15, off the coast of Sicily as part of the Triton plan (Frontex). PHOTO | AFP
In a paper on migration I presented at a forum held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi in 1988, I argued that sooner rather than later, Kenyans would be migrating to other countries, particularly to Southern Africa. The murmurs that greeted that statement implied that I was out of my mind as such an eventuality was unimaginable.
I argued that emigration of Kenyans was inevitable because the country, having provided high-level education to its citizens, was not likely to provide adequate employment opportunities, forcing them to migrate to other regions.
