Friday, August 11, 2006
Canary Islands Continuing Immigration Wave
Yesterday, Thursday, at least 532 "undocumented" immigrants arrived to the Canary Islands coasts, the majority to Tenerife and La Gomera. With that balance at the end of the day, authorities were still expecting another two boats to arrive. Good weather and the coming into force of the EU coastal vigilance, could be reasons that have contributed to this new wave of arrivals.
The European Frontiers Agency (Frontex) operation for the control of illegal immigration in the Atlantic, which will be coordinated from a center in Tenerife, came into force yesterday and is designed to prevent the boats from leaving Africa and to quickly return those that do manage to sail, back to their ports in Mauritania, Senegal and Cape Verde. The record number which reached Canary Island waters yesterday will have been at sea for upwards of a week.
Echoing the two recent cases where sunbathers on the La Tejita beach had rushed to help immigrants, campers on the nearby beach of El Confital also came to the aid of 97 immigrants who had landed there in the early hours last weekend. The campers got out of their beds to give them food and clothing and collaborated actively with Red Cross teams when they arrived.
Coordinator of one of the Red Cross rescue teams, Osvaldo Lemos, said that the attitude of the campers was exemplary. When the Red Cross arrived at 2:30 in the morning, the campers had given the immigrants blankets, food, some of their own clothing and footwear and, had even helped them to get changed. The campers used their motors to provide light to aid the rescue team and helped in whatever else they could, for example, by holding drip bags.
Meanwhile more immigrant records were broken earlier in the week, when the largest number on a single boat - 172 people - arrived to the island of El Hierro. The 25 meter (82 foot) boat might have set out from Senegal in West Africa.
Senegaleese religious leader, Mouhamadou Mansour, also travelled to Tenerife this week to visit minors at retention centers in Tegueste and Adeje. He is quoted as saying that these days many youths in Senegal think only of emigrating, but this is not the way and that we have to convince them not to. He says it is playing with life and also calls for the flow to be regulated to avoid more deaths.
430 more Africans arrive in Canaries
Canarias recibe 532 inmigrantes y espera la llegada de dos nuevos cayucos
Otra marea de cayucos trae al menos 532 inmigrantes más
Comienza a funcionar en Canarias la misión de vilgilancia costera de la UE
El cayuco más grande llegado a Canarias arriba a El Hierro
Spain: 172 immigrants arrive at Canary Island
Campistas auxilian a 97 inmigrantes en Granadilla
Un líder religioso senegalés pide "un flujo reglado" para evitar más muertes
