Sunday, May 07, 2006
Refugees land on holiday beach
Refugees, close to death after the perilous journey on a crowded makeshift boat, crawled ashore into the arms of Red Cross workers. In stark contrast to the scenes of desperation, families nearby were basking in the sunshine on the clean sands of the Spanish island of Fuerteventura, the closest island in the Canaries to the African shore. Photo
A total of 153 immigrants arrived in three boats to various points on the coasts of the Canary Islands, one of which was a 25 meter boat that arrived at Los Cristianos in the south of Tenerife, carrying 76 people, report La Opinion.
Vivirlatino talks about the Canary Islands immigration problem in this post, Immigration is not just an American issue and say, "Just as hundreds die crossing the desert to reach the Rio Grande and make their way to a new life, hundreds more die on the seas to reach the shores of Western Europe, sharing the same sad story thousands of miles away. Their plight is the same, and the rejection they face in their new homelands -- if they are lucky enough to reach them alive -- is just as harsh, if not harsher."
