[ad_1]
The situation of refugees in the Canary Islands is reaching a critical point: only during the weekend, more than 1,000 refugees arrived on the Spanish islands. The authorities and the government are increasingly overwhelmed.
By Marc Dugge, ARD Studio Madrid
There should be almost 2000 people again who have to wait at the dock of the port of Arguineguín in Gran Canaria. The reception center reaches its limits with 400 people. From a distance, you can see the migrants huddled against the wall of the pier, the police and doctors running through the area. Journalists cannot approach: the police will reject them on the access road.
Judith Sunderland was allowed into the facility. She is the European deputy director of the human rights organization “Human Rights Watch”. 30 to 40 people are housed in 14 cramped tents, in inhumane conditions, she says:
“There are no beds, no pillows, no mattresses. People sleep on the floor. They have a bathroom for a full tent. People can only stay in the tent or in a small area in front of it. Therefore, they must be in the tent. Sweltering atmosphere sit indoors – or unprotected in the scorching sun. “
Sometimes refugees wait for days at the pier.
Here at the dock, migrants are being tested for the corona virus. Those who are positive are isolated. The rest are transferred to collective accommodation. Because they are rare, sometimes in empty hotels. But some had been on the dock for several days, Sunderland says.
It is mainly young Moroccans who disembark from the ships. But recently more and more have also arrived from West Africa: from Senegal, Guinea and the crisis countries Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. Police don’t make much of a difference to them, criticizes Sunderland:
“It seems that the police are systematically giving everyone a deportation order, without first investigating the personal situation of the person in question. The police ask them to sign this document. In most cases there is no translator to help the women. I could clearly explain what is in the note. And a lawyer is not present either. “
Other escape routes are increasingly blocked
These are serious accusations. One thing is certain: the authorities are completely overwhelmed. At least 15,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands during the year, more than since 2006.
One reason for this: the other routes to Europe are blocked. The route across the Mediterranean from northern Morocco to southern Spain has become increasingly difficult due to intense controls by the coastguard. And hardly anyone can cross the border fence to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta or Melilla. Therefore, the route returns along the dangerous Atlantic route: for example, from Western Sahara or from Mauritania to the Canary Islands.
Europe tries to turn Cran Canaria into a “prison island”
There many feel abandoned by Spain and Europe. For example Antonio Morales, island president of Gran Canaria: “I think that Europe is following a clear strategy of turning us into a prison island. As happened in Lesbos or Lampedusa, in Ceuta or in Melilla. You yourself think: People don’t come to me on the mainland, we are holding them on the islands. We are turning these areas into dissuasive prisons. “
The Spanish government ensures that the situation is a priority for them. The Minister for Cooperation with the Regions, Carolina Darias, traveled to the Canary Islands this Friday. There he promised to open up military land to house the migrants. The reception center at the port will close soon. Migrants who are not in a “vulnerable” situation must be constantly sent back to Africa. According to Darias, “the capabilities of our security forces must be increased.” On the other hand, the government is “relying on diplomacy with countries of origin and transit to improve people’s living conditions through increased development cooperation.”
Millions for border protection in countries of origin
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska wants to travel to Morocco this week to speak with the local government about how to control the crisis.
In Spain, it has been known for years that it would not work without the help of the countries of origin. And also that this aid has its price: last year Spain transferred 26 million euros so that Morocco can better equip its border guards, for example with off-road vehicles. Part of the 140 million total that the European Commission had promised Morocco for border security.
