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First migrants in the Canary Islands housed in barracks and hotels
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The Canary Islands are becoming the new access point for refugees
Migrants die almost every day on the long journey across the Mediterranean. The Spanish Canary Islands, on the other hand, are only 100 kilometers from Africa. That seems tempting to many refugees, but the road is even more dangerous.
At the beginning of the week the Arguineguín reception center in the Canary Islands was closed after criticism of the prevailing conditions there. Now, the first recently arrived immigrants have been relocated to temporary accommodation.
northAfter the liquidation of a refugee camp in Gran Canaria, the first recently arrived immigrants were housed in military barracks and hotels. As the Spanish rescue services announced on Tuesday, 68 people arrived in two boats to the beach of Maspalomas in the south of Gran Canaria. Initially, the migrants were taken to Arguineguín and are only allowed to stay in the military barracks for up to 72 hours.
In Arguineguín A controversial reception center was closed on Monday and the surrounding camp was dissolved.
The migrants living there were transferred to other facilities on Sunday night, as confirmed on Monday by the Spanish government delegation in the Canary Islands. You were in makeshift military installations and hotels in Gran Canaria and the rest of the islands, said the delegate of the Spanish government in the archipelago, Anselmo Pestana, on Monday.
The migrant and refugee camp now demolished in Arguineguín it was due to poor sanitary and miserable conditions as “field of shame” known. Human rights activists lamented the devastating circumstances; many migrants were only given a blanket to sleep on and there were no showers.
Potential asylum seekers did not have access to legal advice and some stayed there for more than the three days allowed by law.
More and more immigrants are heading to the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands, which also include Gran Canaria and Tenerife, are located in the Atlantic off the west coast of North Africa. Travel across the open sea is considered the most dangerous, but also least controlled, migration route to Europe. The number of migrants and refugees moving from Africa to the Canary Islands has increased considerably this year.
In 2020, more than 20,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands via the dangerous sea route from Northwest Africa. In 2019 there were 1900 people in the same period. At least 500 people He died according to the International Organization for Migration while trying to cross from West Africa to the Canary Islands. More recently, eight migrants were killed in a boat accident off the Spanish island of Lanzarote last Wednesday.
The central government in Madrid is setting up temporary camps for up to 7,000 people and has launched a diplomatic offensive in several African countries to curb emigration. With some exceptions, the Spanish government is currently refusing to bring people to mainland Spain because it fears it will attract more immigrants. Discontent is growing on the islands, which are heavily reliant on tourism and therefore particularly suffer from the corona pandemic.
