The palms

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:56

• Miral de Bruijne

  correspondent Spain and Portugal

• Miral de Bruijne

  correspondent Spain and Portugal

In January alone, more migrants arrived on the Canary Islands than in the entire first half of 2023. The number of migrants taking the boat trip from Africa to the Spanish archipelago has been reaching one record after another for months. The islands are reasonably prepared for this, but it is mainly the unaccompanied minors who cause discussions in society and politics.

There are hundreds of these young people on the largest island of Gran Canaria alone. They are housed in one of the more than 70 special reception centers there. Dozens of centers have been added in recent months. Because more and more young people are getting on sloops in Senegal, Mauritania or Morocco without their parents. José Antonio of the Red Cross also sees this. “In the past, it was mainly women with young children who arrived, but nowadays minors are increasingly arriving alone,” he says.

NOS/Miral de BruijneJosé Antonio, Red Cross

José Antonio stands in the harbor of Arguineguin. It is the place where the Red Cross brings migrants ashore and provides them with the basic necessities of life. Because the journey from Africa to here is one of the most dangerous migration routes and can take between four and eight days. Antonio points to a sloop still in the harbor. “This arrived two weeks ago. They brought the things still in it for their trip.” A penetrating smell emanates from the blue and white boat. There are shoes, rain suits and some leftover food in there.

• NOS/Miral de Bruijne

  A migrant boat from Senagal in the port of Arguineguin

• NOS/Miral de Bruijne

  The boat still contains the things that were brought from Senegal

• NOS/Miral de Bruijne

  Migrants who have just arrived in Arguineguin are being received

Migrants had also arrived that morning. Rescued from a boat with about fifty people, four of whom were minors. While most adults are taken to the Spanish mainland within five months, children and young people usually have to stay on the island until they are eighteen. And the Ministry of Migration wants to introduce new rules for this. So that these young people are distributed throughout the country and not just the Canary Islands bear the burden.

Tolerant

One of the reception centers on the island is Mundo Nuevo. In a village on a hill next to Las Palmas, about 80 boys are housed in an old monastery. Most from North and West Africa. The Christian symbols still hang on the building, but upon entering you also encounter the mosque. “We want to teach the boys that the two religions can coexist,” says Gabriel Orihuela, who runs the shelter. “But I must say that the young people arriving here are becoming more and more tolerant,” he adds.

Orihuela sees that younger and younger boys are coming to his shelter. “In their own country they probably hear that if they can come here at a younger age they can use our system. To get a residence permit and enjoy education here with the ultimate goal of finding a job.” The parents will then have no costs to pay for them and when they are old enough they can look for work on the Spanish mainland or in Europe to send money to their family back home.

NOSGabriel Orihuela greets Famara at the shelter

One of those boys is Famara, 17, from Gambia. In November he boarded a boat in Senagal. More than a week later he arrived in Gran Canaria. “The trip actually went quite smoothly,” says Famara. When his mother died last year, he decided to make the trip to Europe. “My mother took care of me and my younger brother and sisters. Now that my mother is no longer here, I have that responsibility and I want to make something of my future.”

Future

A future that he no longer saw in his own country. But here too, the future is uncertain for some, says Orihuela: “Fortunately, most children who arrive here manage to achieve their goals. Especially those who follow our advice. Those who do not do so and do not want to integrate, usually do not make it and have to ultimately back to the country of origin.”

Asked about a solution to the migration problem, Orihuela says he would prefer that the children do not feel forced to get on the boat. “The only thing that can stop migration is if things go as well in their own country as in the countries they want to go to. Then they wouldn’t come here.”

And that is also the answer from José Antonio of the Red Cross: “The only thing we can do now is welcome these people to our islands. But actually we should not work here, or in Morocco, Senegal or Mauritania. Many come from other countries. Places with problems that need to be addressed. We should offer our help there to ensure that they are not forced to migrate.”

2024-04-08 16:56:37
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