34 Middle East & Africa The EconomistJuly 25th 2020
1C
ompared withthedrossofnorth
Africa’s state broadcasters, it makes
riveting viewing. The video-blogger cuts
his way through rainforests, travels by
wooden canoe, flirts with various wom-
en and finally reaches Panama, one of ten
countries he has entered illegally on his
way to the United States. Each instal-
ment, filmed on a mobile phone and
posted regularly on YouTube, packs
suspense, adventure and tips for
would-be illegal migrants. The vlogger,
Zouhir Bounou, who calls himself Zizou
(pictured), has become a household
name back home in Morocco.
North African migrants have long
shared advice about how to enter Europe
and America illicitly. On social media
they offer a romanticised view of life on
the other side of the journey. These posts
have encouraged hundreds of thousands
of north Africans to embark on haraga, or
illegal migration. Now vloggers like
Zizou are turning their travels into enter-
tainment. And they may be enticing a
new generation to pack up and go. “The
vlogs have a tremendous pull,” says
Amine Ghoulidi, a Moroccan academic.
“I help north Africans break the fear
barrier and fulfil their dream of reaching
the West,” says Murad Mzouri, who used
to peddle cheap clothes in Morocco. Now
he is one of its most popular vloggers,
with up to a million views a month.
Zizou won his audience with tales of
raves on beaches and run-ins with the
police. Citing the danger, he now tells
others not to follow his path.
But the vlogs are full of useful infor-
mation for would-be migrants, such as
the co-ordinates for a route across the
Turkish-Greek frontier and the goingratesforbribes.Some name lawyers who
can help with paperwork or tell of chari-
ties that provide the best shelter. Want to
know where to conduct a sham marriage
or get a fake employment contract?
Check the vlogs. How do you avoid de-
portation? “Claim to be underage, claim
to be Libyan and claim to be looking for
your father,” suggests a vlogger.
There is often more information in
the comments section, such as phone
numbers of smugglers. But that’s the old
way of doing things. The vloggers cau-
tion against paying shady human traf-
fickers. Instead, they suggest buying a
ticket to Turkey and hiking into Greece.
Jet skis are a popular option for Moroc-
cans heading to Spain. Many of the vlog-
gers are university graduates and have
similar viewers. Long considered the
desperate pursuit of no-hopers, illegal
migration is attracting a growing number
of the educated and employed. The vlogs
are “making haraga mainstream and
middle-class”, says Mr Ghoulidi.
They also make money. Mr Mzouri
says he earns $2,000 a month from
advertising and product placements.
When Zizou landed in jail, his followers
crowdfunded his bail. North African
vlogs have an advantage over the compe-
tition. The authorities in the West know
enough standard Arabic—or can use
Google translate—to track the infor-
mation shared on social media by mi-
grants from places like Syria. But the
dialects of north Africa are more of a
challenge. “The vlogs are beyond the
radar of Western officials,” says Matt
Herbert, an expert on migration based in
Malta. And the vloggers themselves are
adept at avoiding the authorities.No passport required
Illegal migrationHow to migrate more adventurouslyG
o out, geta coffee, have a beer, said
Binyamin Netanyahu. “First of all, have
fun.” That was two months ago, after nearly
eight weeks of lockdown, when Israel’s
prime minister thought he had all but beat-
en covid-19. Mr Netanyahu led the fight, re-
fusing to delegate authority and holding
daily briefings full of alarmism and bragga-
docio. “So far we’ve done it better than
nearly any other country in the world and I
assess that by the end of this we will be the
best in the world,” he said in March. “Other
countries are adopting the steps we took.”
They may want to stop. Although Israel
pushed new cases of covid-19 down to a
handful a day in late May and early June,
they are now close to 2,000, higher than
the previous peak (see chart on next page).
The disease is spreading faster in Israel
than in most other developed countries
(though not America). So the government
is locking down again. On July 17th it shut
schools and gyms. Malls and shops were
told to close on weekends. All indoor gath-
erings of ten or more people are banned.
But the new closures look haphazard.
For example, restaurants, beaches and
pools were closed—then opened again,
with some restrictions. Even Mr Netanya-
hu admits that the actions are “not scientif-
ic”. His critics are harsher. “An entire coun-
try is trying to understand why decisions
are made in the middle of the night without
any data,” wrote Yair Lapid, the head of the
opposition, on Twitter. Fewer than a third
of Israelis are satisfied with the way Mr
Netanyahu is handling the crisis, accord-
ing to recent polls. Thousands of people
have taken to the streets in Jerusalem and
Tel Aviv to call for his resignation and to de-
mand more aid for people and businesses
hurt by the outbreak.
Mr Netanyahu has hinted that another
full lockdown could be in the offing if
things do not improve. That would clobber
the economy, which is already set to con-
tract by 6% this year. Unemployment sits at
21%, compared with 3.4% before the out-
break. The prime minister has tried to help,
but Israelis think he is missing the mark. A
6bn shekel ($1.8bn) plan to give $220 to in-
dividuals and up to $870 to families was
panned for failing to target those in need.
“There are more effective ways to help in-
crease demand,” said Amir Yaron, head of
the central bank. The cabinet appears to be
sidestepping Mr Netanyahu by setting up a
committee to decide who gets the cash.JERUSALEM
Binyamin Netanyahu boasted too soon
of defeating the coronavirusIsrael and covid-19Mission
unaccomplished