what we were. when we were. in the first american to some point in our lives will experience hardship but listen up. that matters double. points. five days in the midst of venezuela's crisis in the fight to get aid into the country with a convoy of quantum god own supporters and exclusive d.w. report alongside venezuelan journalist says our buddies a close second look at the country's catastrophic conditions on the way to colombia of a showdown on the border. starts march eighteenth. from

africa to europe hundreds of thousands have tried to flee. but recently the number of arriving migrants has dropped. has cut deals with african governments curbing mass migration in return for eight. years development. the e.u. is widening its reach beyond the mediterranean into africa and it hasn't shied away from bringing long shunned dictators out of isolation borders are being sealed. so are we criminalizing. it's a lucrative new market for the arms and security industry. you can't secure thousands of kilometers of border in libya and egypt without foot patrols technologies exist someone just needs to pay for them it's all good in. the e.u.

has allocated more than eight billion euros to stem the tide of migration. today more migrants are dying in the desert in the mediterranean. has become an. area where. what impact. on africa. our investigation begins. we're headed towards libya from. the road. once the main route for caravans it remains an economic lifeline. merchants transport goods from. and subsaharan countries all the way to libya on

the mediterranean. in recent years this road was also the main route for african migrants trying to get to europe. we're only allowed to travel here with a security escort. we agree in the hope of finding out what action the e.u. is taking here to stop migration. everyone here is checked the. police asked travellers where they've come from and where they're going. anyone suspected of trying to reach europe is barred passage. that's why migrants now avoid these checkpoints. today we don't encounter any west african migrants here instead merchants from the tribe desert nomads who have moved freely across desert borders for centuries.

of the local government the growth of the four of them will leave i'm from music i want to go to libya my parents live there. used to be a lot more people here the merchants tell us that the rest station. but people smugglers are still cashing in says our driver a member of the aga it is regional council. the desert is big even if you stop it here it goes on elsewhere the smugglers know all the checkpoints and avoid them across the desert to get a living. so i do so the business is less official but it continues. to do for me yeah but. it's still a long way to libya. and we're not allowed to continue our journey. the official reason security concerns. mohamed tells us that migrant

transports take big detours through the desert. they also avoid water supply stations because these are now under surveillance through you funding. but off this main route the risks for migrants increase u.n. agencies say the numbers of dead being found in this part of the sahara is rising the government to cooperate with the e.u. which has pledged one billion euros in development aid a massive sum for the impoverished nation. and the government is a hearing to the e.u.'s wishes with a crackdown. there are one hundred nine seized vehicles on this parking lot of the people who are blue going to more than one hundred human traffickers are behind bars or in investigative custody. the migrants who were traveling in these vehicles have ended up in camps run by the international organization for migration and to be sent back to their native

countries. the for two i.d.'s of the like. liberia born may twenty fifth one thousand nine hundred three. with photos. of. the radio broadcaster sarah f.m. regularly reports on e.u. policy and its repercussions. we meet up with the editor in chief even him. he shows us photographs of people who have a deadly died trying to reach europe. to see the migrant who was found dead in the vehicle of happen because they are blocking the only routes that can be traveled safely she must know our grandparents used to. have you mr self why the government of nigeria has refused to let you travel further into the desert. they have something to hide push the sahara has become an open air sanitary sea is

seamanship i see in. increasing numbers of people are dying in the desert because the main route is more strictly controlled a serious allegation. the government in may says the stricter controls are designed to protect people. the european union leads a mission in easier to train police eighty europeans work at their headquarters in the army twenty are posted in august is here. their brief is to train local authorities in conducting more effective controls. the idea would then be to have an eye on that wall to point yeah and that's what actually the alternatives are doing so they are out there trying to you know go there but also it is difficult because they don't necessarily have the mobility they don't have

a costs and. they sometimes stay i think in belmont at the gendarmerie or only have one car with a have more car so that going more car so thanks to germany so what are they saying that. germany has supplied more than two hundred vehicles we want to talk to german officers taking part in the you kept mission in film them work but our request is tonight. we share is a member of the west african economic union eco was similar to the e.u. its citizens enjoy visa free travel across the blocks borders in theory. we've arrived at the border between easier and booking a fossil it's located on the central migration route from west africa to europe and is therefore of interest to the e.u. . officially the e.u. supports the freedom of movement in west africa but that no longer seems to be

valid everywhere. across africa people travel from country to country usually between neighboring countries border traffic is nothing unusual. but the people here say it's becoming increasingly difficult. we meet some people who are desperate to get to europe this man's destination is belgium. police moved i made it to new jersey then i was sent back by the police. they said would be risking their lives in the desert it's not normal. even if i die i have my dream that's the way it is because the secure market is. succumbs on his home country ivory coast is a member of eco us to him but you don't need a visa because you know normally you don't. and eco was member like my country in theory i don't need a visa. in the year the e.u.

has achieved its goal of stemming the tide of migrants for now. the european union is going to great lengths to advance migration controls in africa. we take a closer look at these new strategies. in recent years some african countries have received more attention from europe than ever before. with more than eight billion euros earmarked for africa until two thousand and twenty brussels is flexing its foreign policy muscles. we propose to use a mix of positive and negative incentives to reward those countries willing to cooperate effectively with us and to ensure that there are consequences for those who do not. this includes using our developments of trade policies to create

leverage thank you very much. so that even giving some countries more development aid and expects something in return its focus is on the nations from which migrants and refugees are fleeing and those they cross trying to reach the mediterranean. the e.u. has also cut deals with countries it's long subjected to sanctions like sudan. for years president omar al bashir was an international pariah indicted by the international criminal court on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in darfur. when he won reelection three years ago with an official ninety four percent of the vote visiting dignitaries included guests from egypt zimbabwe and saudi arabia there were no representatives from europe. instead of congratulations brussels only voiced criticism. but a short while later it launched negotiations in two thousand and sixteen. a secret

e.u. documents these clearly spell out the e.u.'s objective in cutting a deal with sudan to reduce onward movements to europe. the moral cost is evidently high. the e.u. should carefully consider the high reputational risk associated with its engagement with sudan. we fly to the sudanese capital. it took a long time for sudanese authorities to approve our visit but after persistent efforts we got visas. intelligence agents accompany us at all times when we're on location sudan is a surveillance state government critics face repression. the country was long internationally isolated and ostracized. but recently sanctions have been lifted or

loose and the west is rehabilitating the regime sudan is the third largest country in africa now controls along its seven thousand kilometer long borders are to be more strictly enforced. on the border with libya that protection is in part provided by the record support forces in two thousand and sixteen at the height of negotiations between sudan and the e.u. the r.s.s. presented seven hundred detained refugees the commander had a clear message. i underline the refugees holds no danger to us these people are trying to reach europe. no there was so we are assisting in europe you know a little. general doug low and his division are notorious in sudan the unit was formed from the militias called the general weed which translates as devils on horseback investigators in the hague say that lho was their commander when on the president's orders they led a campaign of ethnic cleansing in darfur. now

integrated into the army the same troops have been deployed by the government to the north as a border patrol force international human rights groups accuse the orissa of abusing refugees and forcibly returning them to their home countries ethiopia and eritrea in violation of international refugee laws. the e.u. denies it cooperates with the r.s.s. . the spokes person for sudan's cooperation with the e.u. is general. not affiliated with the r.s.s. he's in charge of border protection at the interior ministry. here arrives late to our meeting because he says he was held up in talks with e.u. project officials. stresses that sudan complies with international standards in its treatment of refugees.

we've heard a geisha and say against hours after and then off is there any truth about it or are you walking on this as well no clue for us because we haven't got any new reports on the. but we have also want to go to the loo national commission for human rights those who have been not just a. series of the borders we have to check them out a few years with the exam book to the to the comps but those who are the. the irregular migrants so in collaboration with their congress is the issue of the documents and then we take them back up to the countries the one area that we are not getting the border control is equipment time skeptical to here outlines a number of cooperation projects with the e.u. . there is a new operation center in khartoum contact with the german federal police and

training conducted by the german agency for international cooperation the g.i.c. the years it offers a man implement then they have core implemented. see also but that is too german not for the years of whose support they already started with trainings or anything yeah we have one of the started for the east we. are seeing more than one hundred two officers now. were not permitted to film g.r.i.z. representatives or their on site activities in writing the g.i.'s he confirms that its new duties include training security forces. they declined to sit down for an on camera interview. the e.u. mission in sudan is adamant that it does not cooperate with the r.s.s. if it only deals with other units and it will not be supplying sudan with hardware . there will be probably when this computer

which would be delivered for his reason for changing information to need to networks and. the sort of meant but the move so there when he says that he's waiting for us tonight and probably there's a misunderstanding no. no they are trying to get some things out. to trying to. sudanese. novi. counter effects or isolation for years now and they want to engage with the international community did he want to get some more legitimacy and so we are trying the ambassador believe sudan is on a road towards improvement and that includes its human rights situation he defends

e.u. cooperation saying the focus is on development aid in education and employment. one of the authors of a reporter's worry that they engage with here night strengthen and dictatorship that's a fundamental question but clearly we believe it's not by confrontations that you will improve the situation when you engage in dialogue we have a bit of a challenge to make things change. the sudanese border with eritrea is about a ten hour drive south from the capital border patrols regularly catch refugees entering from eritrea. we accompany one patrol. the secret service military and police working close cooperation here an officer of the secret service tells us. he's in charge here but avoids the camera.

these regular troops have also been accused of human rights abuses. the border with eritrea is a six hundred kilometer long invisible line through the desert. it's strategically important five thousand people flee eritrea every month. nine million refugees currently live in the horn of africa sudan has been instructed to prevent them from setting off for europe. we have an appointment with a local police chief. one i learned a few president who are you know anybody would in the i've always maintained that as long as european nations other refugees destination and suffer from illegal migration they have to pay in the shape of transport modern surveillance equipment modern vehicles even airplanes that can monitor the long borders into ethiopia and eritrea. because. the police chief of claims

representatives of the e.u. and individual member states had promised him more than. just something to give to you dimia who are owed well they made a lot of promises wholesale i can't say nothing has arrived but what we've received doesn't suffice given the current number of migrants admit he. and all that comes to mind right now are a few motorcycles. motorcycles are the bull so you didn't end with a flake of i think that it would grow on its way it takes time we want to know what happens to the people detained at the border and are granted permission to visit one of the big refugee camps near the eritrean border. it's located in no man's land a two hours drive from the nearest city. officially forty thousand people have found shelter here most of them are eritreans who fled to escape a brutal. story military service that can rob men and women of half of their

lifetimes. at times eritrea's border guards have shot and killed people trying to flee. there are food shortages in the camp and many unaccompanied minors we talked to women who tried to get across the border alone. will. begin slow. down and there were seven of us. we were being trailed by a band of smugglers. and we ran away from them five of us got away from the city but i was caught together with another girl. they locked us up for three days and raped us and then they took our money and set us free near the sudanese border all of the one of the women don't want to stay here. unless you can tell i want there's nothing here we don't want to stay in sudan our goal is to flee to europe so we can

have a better life for instance by going to school and learning a new language just so we can have a better life a lot of. the refugees are locked in officially they're not allowed to leave the camp without a pass but that's hard to obtain. sudan's roads are strewn with checkpoints where guards demand to see ids refugees say the only way to get through is with smugglers who have good connections to the authorities. they say sudanese in eritrea and officers have their hands in the smuggling business. the sudanese interior ministry even at mrs march and says it's combating such corruption. we spent months trying to obtain a visa from the eritrean government in vain officials there evidently don't want to discuss why so many of its people want to leave the country. eritrea is dubbed the

north korea of africa many refugees say they're fleeing their own government today more than a million eritreans live outside the country the united nations has documented incidents it classifies says crimes against humanity men aren't slaved in the army women systematically raped it's to this dictatorship that europe has restamp wish to authorize. the e.u. wants to run programs in eritrea to instruct judges and prosecutors on how to bring suspected smugglers to trial. but how successful could that be. eritrea's intelligence agency is active across africa that's why this critic will only speak to us anonymously. if they catch people fleeing and the refugees survive the bullets fired at the border and they torture these people to death they hang them up by the herman's and feet from trees. people are tortured to death.

our informer was himself subjected to prolonged confinement he then managed to escape to another african country. he's an expert on eritrea smuggling network and levels serious charges at the authorities. the safest way to excrete is with the smuggling network run by the military or the government. they organize the excuse and provide the vehicles undermanned usually a commander ensure a safe passage. he ensures that you get through the checkpoints and that no one asks any questions. or anyone involved in smuggling is arrested and executed except the military there services carry a high price tag for twenty eleven to twenty sixth in the price was five thousand dollars per person today it's eight thousand per person. government employees operating as smugglers can that be true. eritrean authorities

deny the accusation. in the netherlands we meet up with a researcher who's published a comprehensive study on the trade in refugees from eritrea lariam for a rise in. the first thing to say is that human trafficking and this kill in a country that is so close and so controlled is not possible without the knowledge of the government in interviews with refugees also speak often office that general mind use had in eastern sudan and basically controlling. a lot of abductions apparently that were happening from that that office. the eritrean government took from rising to court over her allegations but she won the case. she remains critical of eritrea and the e.u. basically what we are supporting is mafia type organizations which keep local.

populations under control but is very strange about the european union policy is that for. all those decades the european union and i would say rightly so has put as conditions for its respect for human rights and respect for the more democracy and the rule of law. and now at this moment to act in many africans are thinking that that is very important to build their societies. the european union starts to. kind of put these aside it's to go into a very cynical agreements purely out of self-interest but it's a very shortsighted self-interest because at the end of the day that'll come back

to us. cooperation with undemocratic governments refugees trapped in hopeless situations bodies in the desert. we want to confront those responsible for the e.u.'s new policy with its consequences. we're meeting one of the blocs his strategists italy's stefano months every easy heads the european commission's department of international cooperation and development. will feel the opium societies the problem is the pro is why it how we come of it was a call to do. and european uno. try to contribute in this way taking will show you say courage cook quite courageous to say approach if you want so therefore the three things the let's say structure the bit more input you could from the sale to the whole second institutional building and capacity of the states

in order to be able to manage that there had to fighting ice cream and there to a concert there and third reintegration of the organist he's pragmatic in his defense of e.u. cooperation with dictatorships like sudan so therefore there is already a reality of camps careful let's read them because you for another wave stuff and you know that would be a problem if we partially clothes are going to leave open cool for example where there would be simply the traffic therefore let's cooperate with them you know order to have a better management of this this better management however may be having serious repercussions we raise the subject of dead migrants in the knees desert. all this is not immune from mistaken from unfortunate also people dying but you're not to say that therefore this policy is rotten because it's intended consequences which are pushing people to know this is the chain of causality i deny that but it

can happen of course but we are taking care of these people. in the fall of twenty seventeen ivory coast hosted a summit of the european union and african union called to focus on youth advancement it was meant to be a harmonious affair. but the e.u. arrived with a wish list it wanted guarantees that african states would take back citizens whose applications for asylum in europe had been rejected amid a lack of consensus the issue of migration overshadowed the summit. we sat down with the african union's director for social affairs just. because of european migration on. so you keep everybody. on a new figural sports suit of all you see sometimes trying to do one i don't want to use you or deliberate but i see just too long intended consequences because there are natural minded bullshit of keep them all to keep them all topped off post cross

in front of us is not a crime we must all much we try to make you we all might get there from somewhere. in africa's migration is a motor for development citizens working abroad sent money home. in many countries that income is more crucial than development aid from europe. so what sagal is to see like i said it's our money going to record it. to see if i'm orderly honorable in my tradition and to see the benefits. i'm to continue to see my response positive not something may get you on perhaps a ticket to a weak spot to to do not achieve the wheat from their rights weakness to be able to . africans want more migration europeans less the twenty seventeen summit ended in discord and with no joint statement on the issue african

nations were left feeling that europe was determined to seal itself off from their continent. frontex is in charge of doing just that we're on our way to the headquarters of the e.u. border security agency. when it was founded in two thousand and five frontex was allocated a budget of six point five six million euros for twenty twenty it's slated to get three hundred forty five million. the number of employees is slated to rise in the same period from forty five to one thousand frontex can also call on thousands of national police officers from backup across europe. from. doesn't just patrol the e.u.'s outer borders in the mediterranean it's also received new duties such as the training of border police in africa. and it has forged an alliance with african intelligence agencies they had a front text tells us. this will recruit or. is

our first goal is the exchange of information information pertaining to migration as well as crime or community. two thirds of the more than twenty participating countries in the security network are autocratic regimes frontex is seeking to increase manpower and technology in african countries. showbiz's and good minds arms i believe it's in the common entrance and of european and african countries. to build on these resources are all supposed to be. building on resources includes investing in technology the industry is ready and waiting in the wings we take a look around europe's biggest event for homeland security many people in paris. border protection technology is the number one emerging segments in the arms industry. one reason technology to secure and control borders is easier to

export then military hardware. so i don't know all you know is also different x. well in europe there's frontex. we're expecting orders from the agencies and if you're trying to stop the border crossing was there are various types of technology available for surveillance to control and alarm this is one that while they could present it the solution is like a swiss army knife saw you can choose the tools that meets your current need or it was a sin which you can appease it have to have a clue is what the media. order management is a booming business with global annual market growth of seven percent. sales in the industry are due to exceed fifty billion dollars worldwide by two thousand and twenty two. one reason is increasing demand in the fight against irregular migration but nobody here is willing to discuss the

topic with us airbus ryan mittal and industry groups decline or ignore our request for interviews. but we know their lobbyists are busy working behind the scenes thanks to the efforts of the arms industry's most important e.u. lobby organization the aerospace and defense industries association. five hundred million euros of the e.u. budget have been diverted to fund research and development of new military technology. we then get a surprise call former german minister for economic cooperation and development. has granted us the first interview with his post political career he now works for germany's biggest arms producer. where he's in charge of global strategy development. you can secure thousands of kilometers of borders in libya and egypt with foot patrols protection demands the implementation of technology to. technological protection doesn't always take the shape of walls or fences

technological protection can also comprise a sensor by a surveillance system ground radar or aerial objects. as a politician knievel advocated a marriage of german industry with development policy. it's in europe's interest and if it's in germany's answers that such measures of protection are implemented then it must also be in europe's or germany's interest firstly to pay for these measures and secondly that the people who have to work with these technologies get the qualifications they need to operate them. strictly civilian technology firms are also hoping for a share of the profits in africa biometrics is the buzzword the dutch company is the market leader a microchip storing fingerprints and photos is embedded in passports and verified it borders. just media so this could propagate to remain closed for the

person to be called over for a control controlling it's a complete system the european union is funding the introduction of such technologies for instance in nigeria. this is this really so this. on the african market we have the situation that the market as such is virtually nonexistent while at the same time it's precisely there that the passport complete systems civil registries need to be rolled out. on our trips we're constantly having our fingerprints scanned in pictures taken. africa's borders and airports are obviously getting an upgrade. pretty soon no one will be able to board a plane here without environment or passport. like in many african countries uganda now requires every citizen to undergo biometric registration. that applies to refugees as well as a requirement mandated by the government. the machines are supplied by european

companies the aim is to prevent refugees from applying for asylum in more than one country in future the data will be accessible globally that would aid the e.u. in its efforts to repatriate rejected asylum seekers to their home countries. we want to find out what impact the e.u.'s new africa policy has had here. the need for foreign aid here in uganda is great but the money it receives doesn't amount to much. one point four million refugees live in the country. the north is home to the biggest refugee camps in africa. uganda depends on international aid and u.n. agencies in particular to provide these people with basic necessities but there are problems. you know who would be filthy is not ten out of my dad would these two do that don't know if i'm doing that. i do quickly and that's the reason as to why

oftentimes they're able to bring in what they have. and that even though uganda's refugee policy is considered exemplary these are not camps in which refugees sit around idly these are settlements. refugees building materials are donations they can move freely around the country they're allowed and encouraged to find work. but the situation is deteriorating there is a shortage of everything food schools teachers doctors the e.u. is one of uganda his biggest donors yet it now spends less on each refugee here than it used to at the same time the transit countries that lie on refugees route to europe are getting more funding under brussels new policy. uganda feels it's losing out. there is still a big gully to be according to. the funding.

side to five percent the european union's key about. increasing the company you see. we continue to appeal but we don't know what to do. the un refugee agency is also feeling the pinch as a result of brussels new policy in africa. negotiating with the. a view to optimize refugee policy is the job of this man. you can look at the situation from different viewpoints it's wrong to say that the problem is solved because fewer people are arriving in italy because more people are leaving libya to return to their home countries. that is just the heart of the problem the problem of waste the problem remains because it controls have become more strictly enforced and some borders on routes to libya and it's now become much

more difficult to get there and the smugglers take much higher risks because there are more people being left stranded in the desert we now have a lot more people dying in the desert probably more than we have drowning in the mediterranean and i meet you on the saltwater. says africans are the main losers of the e.u.'s new policy. see it don't you wait if more money is being spent on border protection would've done an effect of development in a particular country that unfortunately was perceived asserting the balance d.c. keyed in we talk a lot about controlling and preventing illegal migration but what we don't see is any funding of legal migration small deep and sees what i mean but every side needs to take compromises to the policy cannot come down to expecting africa to shoulder all the burden without offering people any opportunities. that. illegal entry into europe for more than just a few thousand selected refugees is something the african union is also demanding and it has its own plans for inner african migration. just one hundred eighty five

percent of my response is within africa. that's an established fact however up starting from twenty in. the idiot continent we did put him in place if you know if free movement protocol which is in three parts of foster is a bullish of research in mashed one is recipes i mean domestic versus right a first obviously so. we have put in money meant of migration on the continent in a more legal framework. to watch if. it's it's sick it's ink events on our european partners with the own experience to also support what nots to undermine it out because of disparate policies to keep people out. but the e.u. steadfastly rejects this claims. he seems to me quite the complex

reasoning that if we are managing and helping them in order to loose a man as their space you know for their own purpose mccauley our shop it's easy i'm paying their fair project it seems i work with africa's fanciers hasim from the coal industry a friend off i. my african friends. we want to say the e.u. diplomat stands by his position he sees migration as a threat to europe's future. if this will not turn into a permanent feature. work the geographic. will remain subject to the same pressure. the e.u. has achieved its goal the number of migrants arriving in europe is falling. but the consequences of its policy are dire the e.u. is deepening ties to regimes with dubious human rights records. and for africans

under threat it's becoming increasingly difficult to seek protection and work beyond their own borders. tomorrow today most of the big picture. looks down from high above the earth. and here far out into space. left to the images we find tell us about the planet and the people that live on it. join us on including into space. to borrow today. thirty minutes on d w.

one hundred seven must read some new delhi's list of not to be missed in german novels in english translation. among them one of the many business and is written michael media focus. we visited her in los angeles and us to what it's like to be chillin rice say in the us. in sixty minutes to a. city in ruins moreover a. symbol of a long conflict in the philippines between the muslims and the christian population last night as fighters occupied the city center in two thousand and seven team president to church's response was told. by the federal reserve will never again look over. the reconquest turned into tragedy this is

not the kind of freedom that we want and how did morality become a gateway to islamist terror. an exclusive report from a destroyed city. similar in the sense of fire starts april eleventh on d w. the primary suspect in friday's deadly mass shooting in new zealand has been reprimanded without plea by a court in christchurch the suspect a twenty eight year old australian and self-proclaimed white supremacist is charged with murder forty nine people were killed and at least forty two injured in the attack minutes. students around the world skipped school friday taking to the streets to call for action against climate change.