US President Donald Trump is deporting migrants to Uganda, Eswatini, South Sudan and Rwanda. But what do the deals he has struck with these countries mean for the deportees and Africans themselves.
00:00they were building their lives far from home but now their American dream has turned into a
00:11nightmare the Trump administration is deporting migrants to countries they've never known imagine
00:17someone from Vietnam landing in Eswatini for the first time as a deporte the kingdom of Eswatini
00:24South Sudan Uganda and Rwanda have signed controversial agreements with the US to accept
00:32some of the deportees are these deals are burden or an opportunity the world is just one village
00:38and so people are free to crisscross as long as they are not criminals and not bring bad images
00:45bad actions they are free to move around welcome to the flip side Rwanda has agreed to take up to
00:51250 deportees from the US promising housing health care and job training neighboring Uganda says it
01:00will accept selected migrants no miners no criminal records and mostly African nationals in July South
01:09Sudan welcomed eight migrants from countries including Cuba Laos Mexico Myanmar and Vietnam
01:16South of the continent Eswatini took in five deportees labeled criminal illegal aliens by the US in
01:26exchange Washington has promised financial support lifting of sanctions in the case of South Sudan
01:32investment pledges and closer diplomatic ties the move sparked rare protests and concerns over
01:39transparency and human rights within Eswatini on the ground communities from these four African
01:46nations are already struggling with limited jobs housing and social services despite Africa's long
01:53history of opening doors to those in need many are questioning whether they can afford to host more
01:59newcomers I don't know which opportunities these are coming with and I don't know why they choose
02:04Uganda because Ugandans already are competing for the available resources which are not enough we have many slums
02:13coming up there is a lot of scarcity in when it comes to the opportunities and the resources as a country mind you Uganda
02:23currently hosts nearly 2 million refugees amid UN funding cuts so are these countries deciding for themselves or are
02:31they buckling under Trump's assertive foreign policy agenda no they they are trying to exactly to to please the United
02:38States their concerns or tariffs the United States is basically exporting its problem to to Africa I
02:46think it is ethically a model morally really problematic supporters of the deportation agreements argue
02:53there's another side to the story deportees arrive with language skills overseas experience or global
03:00connections for countries like Eswatini South Sudan Rwanda and Uganda this could translate into new
03:08businesses innovative ideas and even stronger diaspora links the opportunities with migration there are also
03:15challenges but our aim is to manage the challenges so that we get the best out of it and so now I don't
03:22know if it is even time for us to talk about opportunities where they are going to because that's already a step that we
03:29need to manage it well but the policy remains tricky critics say these bilateral deals risk portraying Africa as
03:37a dumping ground for unwanted migrants even though historically African communities have absorbed millions of
03:44refugees from neighboring conflicts often transforming crises into opportunities for growth and resilience the world is just one
03:53one of the most important part of the country and so people are free to cross and so people are free to crisscross as long as they are not criminals and not bring bad images bad actions they are free to
04:01move around after all how many gunners are beyond borders so many and so let's treat each other as one people as US deportation flights land in sub-saharan Africa will the migrants be marginalized or will they become potential assets for Africa's future
04:17in the end the real question may not be whether these Trump migrant deals are good or bad but how the host nations choose to turn them into opportunities and that's the flip side
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