Food hoarding and debts in kind among migrants in camps
A report describes how groups of migrants hoard food in camps, leaving sub-Saharan migrants, the most vulnerable, without resources.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Food tensions shape migrant camps
A report published by El Periódico, and circulated in recent hours, describes a humanitarian aid distribution turned into a battleground. In makeshift camps and overnight sites in parks and hills, groups of Maghrebi migrants are said to have formed that hoard basic goods, force others to sell to them and collect debts in kind. The information, based on sources on the ground, identifies sub-Saharan migrants as the most vulnerable adults: the same sources indicate that in previous crises they only ate once everyone else had finished.
Hoarding with no authority over distribution
The report provides no official figures, but describes a power vacuum in which control of food is imposed by force. The groups mentioned not only hoard: they also force other migrants to sell or run up debts in kind, turning aid itself into a mechanism of subjugation. The absence of any distribution structure leaves the weakest out of the queue.
The most striking thing about the article is not the existence of tensions, but how matter-of-factly it is assumed that access to food depends on the group. So far, no one has quantified how many camps operate this way. And that absence of data is as significant as the report itself.
A report published by El Periódico, and circulated in recent hours, describes a humanitarian aid distribution turned into a battleground. In makeshift camps and overnight sites in parks and hills, groups of Maghrebi migrants are said to have formed that hoard basic goods, force others to sell to them and collect debts in kind. The information, based on sources on the ground, identifies sub-Saharan migrants as the most vulnerable adults: the same sources indicate that in previous crises they only ate once everyone else had finished.
Hoarding with no authority over distribution
The report provides no official figures, but describes a power vacuum in which control of food is imposed by force. The groups mentioned not only hoard: they also force other migrants to sell or run up debts in kind, turning aid itself into a mechanism of subjugation. The absence of any distribution structure leaves the weakest out of the queue.
The most striking thing about the article is not the existence of tensions, but how matter-of-factly it is assumed that access to food depends on the group. So far, no one has quantified how many camps operate this way. And that absence of data is as significant as the report itself.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (33 replies).
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