A North African migrant gestures as he waits inside the Ventimiglia train station on the Italian-French border April 21, 2011. France temporarily shut its border to trains from Italy carrying African migrants and protesters on Sunday, a move Rome formally protested, accusing Paris of violating European principles.
A North African migrant gestures as he waits inside the Ventimiglia train station on the Italian-French border April 21, 2011. France temporarily shut its border to trains from Italy carrying African Show more

Tunisian migrants find an unwelcome Europe



VENTIMIGLIA, ITALY // Hassen Sahli and Sami Garslah led the way through the Italian railway station and, with dry humour, presented their "five-star hotel".

The long, narrow waiting room in Ventimiglia, seven kilometres from the French border, is where some of the hundreds of Tunisian migrants gathered to sleep at night and dream of new lives in an unwelcoming Europe.

Rugs and other humble belongings are pushed against the walls beside cheap plastic seats. From one pile, Mr Sahli produces a simple placard proclaiming, in words and little heart-shaped symbols, their quest for freedom.

It is more than a month since the two men joined the exodus from Tunisia, a journey that started with hazardous crossings in crowded boats to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The presence of so many Tunisians on the frontier has created diplomatic tension between France and Italy.

Trains between Ventimiglia and Nice were blocked by the French authorities last weekend and newspaper headlines highlight concerns that a "Mediterranean Sangatte" - the northern French village that was the focus of Asian and other African migrants' attempts to reach Britain, even after the authorities closed the refugee camp in 2002 - is in the making.

Mr Garslah and Mr Sahli said they are among an estimated 1,000 Tunisians sleeping where they can in Ventimiglia, from the station waiting room and an overflowing reception centre to a park by the seafront.

This may be an exaggeration. Local officials have suggested it is more like 500 or 600 people. All are men, mostly in their 20s and 30s. Some paid smugglers around Dh5,000 to cross the Mediterranean and have little money left. They survive on what sympathetic bakers and grocers give them, and what they can persuade journalists and film crews to pay for their stories.

Roughly 26,000 Tunisians have crossed to Italy since January and most have been granted, or promised, temporary residential papers that should allow passage between European countries signed up to the Schengen treaty on free movement.

But France's president Nicolas Sarkozy is anxious to present himself as tough on immigration and, with elections a year away, fears a backlash if people see large numbers of migrants allowed into France at a time when the country is committed to reducing the flow.

Paris believes Italy is trying to offload its problems on to neighbours. Rome deplores French reluctance to share its burden. Frank exchanges are expected when the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, meets Mr Sarkozy in Rome tomorrow. The agenda is likely to include French proposals to change the Schengen accord to allow suspension of "roaming rights" when circumstances demand.

The European Commission accepted that the French national rail operator, SNCF, acting on the advice of a French regional administrator, was within its rights in halting trains on April 17.

Paris claimed it was a response to the threat to public order as left-wing Italian militants sought to accompany migrants by rail to Nice and Marseille.

France insists that even Tunisians in possession of the Italian-issued permits may enter only if they are able to prove they can support themselves, but even that is being interpreted haphazardly.

After police acted to send migrants back to Italy, the approach is being seen on both sides as a sign of French intransigence.

"No border should be closed within the Schengen area," Caroline Maillary, representing a migrants' support group, told the French media. "Any person in one or the other member states should be able to travel freely in another member state. The government guidelines are therefore against the law."

The most determined refugees reach France despite the challenges and bureaucratic obstacles.

Before the events of last weekend, Mr Garslah, 27, who earned just Dh800 a month as a fisherman in Sfax Karkina, was able to travel by train to Paris, where he stayed for two days with friends, who gave him fresh clothing and money, before visiting relatives in Germany.

But a simple administrative error had rendered his permit worthless - an Italian official had dated it incorrectly - and he had to return to Ventimiglia where he now waits for valid papers.

"I only want to pass through France and find work in Germany," he said. "I have metal construction qualifications, but life in Tunisia is hard and work is very badly paid. Why does Europe talk about freedom but refuse to help us?"

Mr Sahli, 32, who has a baccalaureat certificate but has never found employment at home in Béja, is prepared to accept any job, preferably in the Netherlands or Germany.

Despite the uprising that toppled the former president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, he is gloomy about prospects in Tunisia.

"Ben Ali has gone but dictatorship remains. Freedom is so important to me," he said. "In Europe, I want liberty before I want bread."

One French newspaper, Nice-Matin, reported the story of two Tunisians who avoided French police controls by trudging for four hours on foot across mountain passes, before boarding a train from the French resort of Menton and heading for Cannes and Nice.

Among the Tunisians waiting in Ventimiglia, there is similar resolve.

Trains are running normally, and France is minutes away by road - though there are checks at the first motorway toll station. While money is short, contacts in France and beyond are willing to help.

Some Tunisians have already crossed at least once, only to be returned to the Italian border. Other sare clearly more successful, and the process is likely to continue.

"There are 150 people sleeping each night in my centre," said one Italian official working with the migrants. "It's almost never the same ones."

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US households add $601bn of debt in 2019

American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.

Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.

In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.

The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Stage results

1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep  4:39:05

2. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team BikeExchange 0:00:08

3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma same time 

4. Jack Haig (AUS) Bahrain Victorious s.t  

5. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe s.t  

6. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates s.t 

7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ s.t

8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (COL) EF Education-Nippo s.t     

9. Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek-Segafredo  s.t

10. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers s.t


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