Khaberni - Those who track human movement from the Global South to the West discover that these are not sudden surges, but rather a long extension of a deep historical impact shaped by the colonial era and subsequent models of economic and political dominion. The colonial powers established extractive states in Africa and Asia that did not aim to build independent institutions, but rather to transform lands and peoples into primary resources supporting European industrial centers, leaving behind states with weak structures, divided societies, and borders drawn without the slightest consideration for their social history. Over time, these fragile structures have turned into fertile ground for recurring local conflicts, where ethnic rivalries intersect with elites competing for power, amidst an institutional vacuum that renders development fragile and the state incapable of containing the demands of its society or managing its wealth equitably.
The unequal integration into the global market has deepened this legacy, with post-colonial economies confined to roles of raw material exporters and importers of technological goods, a dynamic that produces limited opportunities, perpetuates unemployment, and drives talents to migrate. Despite the major powers raising the banners of democracy and human rights, the historical experience shows that realpolitik policies often supported undemocratic regimes as long as they achieve stability serving geopolitical interests, which hindered domestic reform and entrenched a dependency relationship that prevents the formation of a strong and capable national state.
Because history does not end with the conclusion of formal occupation, forms of indirect dominance continued through debt, trade agreements, and networks of interests that keep many of the southern states in a subordinate rather than a partner position. The picture grows more complex with the pressures of climate hitting the most vulnerable regions, and with the international powers' race for influence in continents that have yet to complete building their robust institutions. Thus, migration today becomes a natural outcome of an unjust global structure, not merely an individual choice.
The migrant does not leave his land because he does not love it, but because the land itself has not been granted the opportunity to be stable, fair, and prosperous. When he steps toward the North, he does not carry only his bags, but also a complete history written without the will of its people. In the end, the question remains hanging on the doors of the contemporary world:
Can those who created the roots of the crises complain about their fruits?
Migration is not just human movement; it is a mirror reflecting a history not yet resolved, and traces left by power on paths that people still walk on today.
