Hrothgar, I wonder if you have visited an African country? It's rather a shock the first time, especially if it's a very poor one, or a very poor region. Even after many, many visits, I'm still horrified and saddened by the things I see. The people there see 'The West' or 'Europe' portrayed on TV or in newspapers and long to escape their poverty, even semi-starvation. My husband was one of them.
I wouldn't blame anyone in those circumstances for risking all (even their lives in some cases) to get out of it and seek a better existence.
I still maintain that nowadays elected African politicians exacerbate the poverty by grabbing with both hands most of the financial gains to be had in their position, and do nothing to ameliorate the suffering. They just don't seem to care. To me, they're no better than the old colonials in their greed and indifference.