Hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa risk their lives every year fleeing poor economic conditions, persecution or conflict. Traveling to Europe, many, too, seek better education or job opportunities.
An April 2024 UNHCR report noted, for instance, that an estimated 3,045 people died or went missing along migration routes across the Mediterranean Sea since their last report in July 2022.
Although migration itself is a major issue that newsrooms often report on, those making the journeys rarely see coverage about their personal experiences and the challenges they face.
In June 2023, Nigerian journalists Amaka Obioji and Chimme Adioha co-founded Diaspora Africa to empower African immigrants to contribute, engage and advocate for inclusive policies to protect themselves and amplify their voices.
“We are connecting with migrants themselves, listening to them and telling their stories using media and digital technology to amplify them, hoping [they get] to the right people,” said Obioji.
Telling migrants’ stories
Diaspora Africa leverages data collection, solutions journalism and evidence-based research to document the “nuances and dynamics of immigration” across the continent, explained Obioji.
“Our aim is that through our work, governments and institutions will get insight into issues that affect African migrants and aid them to make better policies,” she said.
Since its inception, Diaspora Africa has covered how the U.K.’s migration policy denies some migrants the right to bring their families with them, and how infrastructural neglect by state authorities accelerated forced displacement in northern Nigeria, among other stories.
Diaspora Africa also operates a database called Migration Monitor that documents African migration trends and patterns. The tool sources publicly available data and news coverage, and gathers information on human rights violations and other migration-related incidents. It’s intended to be a resource for research and reporting.
Training journalists to cover migration
Earlier this year, Diaspora Africa partnered with the International Organization for Migration to train its first cohort of early and mid-career journalists on climate-related migration.
The two-day training featured sessions on the art of communication; data sourcing, mining and interpretation; and writing about migration issues.
A panel discussion during the training also addressed local nonprofit organizations that provide humanitarian aid and financial support to climate-displaced people in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
“Our argument is, how would people tackle [climate disasters] when there is limited coverage and reports? Are people aware of their contributions to environmental degradation? Are communities that currently face these challenges properly documented by the media, and how is this documentation used in getting solutions for them?” said Obioji.
After attending Diaspora Africa’s inaugural training, Chiamaka Dike, a features editor at Marie Claire Nigeria, was inspired to tell more stories around climate displacement. “People (or maybe even the media) only see climate disasters happening to lower income people when indeed it can happen to everyone,” she said.
The training helped Yahuza Bawage, a freelance journalist in Borno State, understand the importance of collaborating with climate activists when covering migration issues. He said the training inspired him to study how desertification is pushing people in northern Nigeria to migrate, and how drought and deforestation are fueling the migration of Fulani cattle farmers across sub-Saharan Africa.
“In recent years, due to repeated droughts, some water bodies, especially in some northern parts of the country are drying up,” explained Bawage. “This is a big challenge for the pastoralists who rely on such while grazing their cows, forcing pastoralists to migrate to places where they think their cows can graze without hitch.”
Challenges
A critical obstacle for Diaspora Africa’s team is the limited number of journalists who have the expertise needed to cover issues on migration.
“Conversations around migration, environment and policies require expertise. Sometimes, we struggle to find journalists working on these stories, especially connecting with reporters from East and Central Africa,” said Obioji.
Tackling migration issues in news coverage is further impeded by a lack of funding and resources.
“For many independent media organizations, limited resources and funding are a challenge,” said Adioha. “It limits the stories we tell, our reach and impact. One thing is to notice a problem, put a face to it and wrestle with the problem, but another thing is to access the right resources that will help to find the most suitable answers to the problem.”
Photo by Joe Darams on Unsplash.
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