Giant_and_Dwarf-FIN

Continent of Gigantic ProblemsEurope itself will not be spared severe droughts and desertification either. It is verylikely that within the lifetime of today’s young generation, the mighty Sahara will jumpover the Mediterranean and begin to engulf Spain, Italy and the Balkans. The face of Europewill indeed change dramatically and certain parts will become reminiscent of Arab lands.Migration from the south to the north of the continent will indeed become a huge issue forEuropeans. However, this will not be the “Eurabia” predicted by Colonel Gaddafi or Americanreligious fanatics.Before this happens, Islamic immigration will cease to exist as a perceived or real threatto Europe. What was supposed to fuel it and was supposed to be a source of Arab powerand advantage, its rapid population growth, will be one of its undertakers. People still livingalong the northern shores of Africa, in the oases and on the banks of the Nile, the Euphratesand the Tigris will be working hard to secure their very survival with no potential to poseany meaningful threat to countries farther north over the next 50 years. It is difficult toimagine that 100 million, maybe even 150 million MENA citizens, will in the not so remotefuture be but a distant memory of a short period in history when oil bubbled under thesand and rain fell at least occasionally on the Arab lands—a memory blowing in the desertwind. It will not happen tomorrow, or in one year, but many of the people alive today willwitness this transformation of the world.Important from the perspective of Sub-Saharan Africa is that even before developmentsin North Africa become completely apparent, their consequences will be fully feltin the countries that are already dependent on development and humanitarian aid today.The worsening economic situation in Europe and the USA already intensifies political pressureto cut down on development aid: can you imagine how bankrupt or almost bankruptcountries such as Greece, Portugal or Italy and other countries affected by the crisis willcontinue their aid programs? “Donor fatigue” has been on the scene for a long time andwill only get worse. The “cake” of development and humanitarian aid will shrink and theshare of Sub-Saharan Africa, a region politically less significant for donor countries, will falleven faster, in proportion to the demand for aid in starving overpopulated MENA countriesheading towards collapse. For development aid provided to Sub-Saharan Africa by theEuropean Union and other donors, understanding these realities leads to very importantconsequences; for example, in the selection of priority areas where assistance should go.We shall touch upon them later.55