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As the new Italian government closes the ports for refugee boats, the migration goes from Africa to Spain. The number of arrivals tripled in the region of Andalusia
African migrants are landed in Andalusian Motril overnight. (Photo: Carlos Gil / Getty (Motril, July 12, 2018))
The Orange Rescue Cruiser Rio Aragón was deployed all day off the south coast of Spain. More than 100 people helped the rescuers get out of the water in a few hours. Migrants traveled in small barges made of wood or rubber. "That's how it works almost every day," says Juan Alcausa. The Red Cross coordinator in the coastal town of Motril, south of Spain, is waiting for his team in the port for the survivors. Now that the sea was calmer, the male smugglers on the other side of the Mediterranean were sending a lot of boats on the way. "We are facing a hot summer of refugees," Alcausa fears. It could get worse in August. The city of Motril (60,000 inhabitants), in the Andalusian province of Granada, is one of the new focus of the migratory drama on the Mediterranean
Spain has become the new Italy for refugees – the main migratory destination of southern Europe. As fewer and fewer boats arrive on the Italian shores, the number of arrivals in the Spanish region of Andalusia has tripled. The Red Cross man, Alcausa, does not believe that this is changing rapidly. The way to Italy is largely cut. This is because the EU has intensified its cooperation with the Libyan Coast Guard. In addition, the new government in Rome closed the ports for the refugee boats
800 euros for 180 kilometers
Many migrants who climb the port of Motril this afternoon of the Rio Aragón rescue boat have life jackets safety. Others are wrapped in red covers because they are cool. Almost all are black Africans from sub-Saharan countries. After the first steps on the European continent, some kneel, kiss the ground. Some people lift their arms triumphantly. "Despite the tragedy they are going through on their trip to Europe, they are happy when they arrive here," says Juan Alcausa. The hope for a better life is obviously greater than all the suffering that they have endured. They must all cross the Sahara, where it is estimated that more migrants die than in the Mediterranean. Abouo, 26, has needed a year to cross the desert to Morocco from his homeland in Africa, Ivory Coast, Mali and Mauritania – on the way he continued to look for money for the trip. "Many young people in my country just want to leave," he says. And all have one goal: Europe.
"About 50,000 black Africans are waiting in Morocco to cross the Mediterranean," El Mundo newspaper quoted Spanish security agencies as saying. Some try first across Spanish North Africa excludes Melilla or Ceuta. Others are about to move from Morocco to Spain. That's what Abu did. On the Moroccan coast, he paid a tug of 800 euros for the crossing of 180 kilometers. Yes, he was afraid, he reports. Why did he dare anyway? "There is no work and a lot of problems in Africa." In Motril, the arrest waits. The young African, truck driver in his home country, is transferred by the police to a closed reception center of the port
Overcrowded authorities
The hall, formerly used by the police, was used by the police. fishing industry, is overcrowded. The conditions are pathetic, complains Andalusian politician Maribel Mora of the leftist party Podemos: "It is a detention center, where they are placed in cells. Although these are people who have been rescued at sea and many of them have survived the trauma of a sinking. Women and babies would also be housed there. It's unworthy of humanity. "There is almost no room for mattresses on the floor." Conditions are slightly better in a gym north of Motril, where another temporary camp has been set up. In these centers, migrants spend the first 72 hours of their arrival. These are crucial hours. During this period, the aliens' police decide his fate. About expulsion or freedom. Most will be lucky and can expect a release later. Because they ask for asylum in the camp, which protects them from deportation. Because the identity or the country of origin can not be clarified beyond all doubt. Or they are released because they have to give way to the castaways.
38 Andalusian aid organizations wrote a protest statement: "Spain reacts with an alarming improvisation to the migration crisis." Among the signatories, the civic platform "Motril Acoge" picks up, which helps migrants with clothes and food. "There is a lack of disposition of the state," complains Miguel Salinas, spokesman for Motril Acoge. He warns: "The constant feeling that the camps are overpopulated, causes a xenophobic mood in the population." The policeman pushing outside the refugee camp felt nothing of it. In fact, he is not allowed to say anything. Then he breaks the silence: "Tell everyone the sad truth – it's a drama." People he has to keep, he is sorry: "They are very decent people, obedience and diligence.They do not cause us any problem." Most did not want to stay in Spain anyway, says the policeman. "They all want to go to France, and to Germany." Why? "They are also watching TV in their home country," said Alcausa, a Red Cross employee. "They believe that they are doing better in Germany or France than in Spain."
The Red Cross, acting on behalf of the state, helps migrants: From southern Spain, refugees with bread, a bottle of water and a ticket to bus Sent north. "Only the poorest of the poor are left hanging in Spain," said Father José of the Catholic parish of Motril. For example, those who do not have contacts in other countries. Even for migrants who can only be saved dead from the sea, Spain is the last stop – they are buried in the municipal cemetery.
"In Europe, everything is better than in Africa"
"Those who stay in Spain usually end up farming," says José García of the Soc-Sat union. Immediately after Motril start the plantations. They are part of the largest vegetable garden in Europe. A sea of greenhouses that stretches to the port of Almería, 100 kilometers to the east. Salad, tomatoes, zucchini or hot peppers grow here all year round. In the middle are shanty towns where thousands of laborers live in plastic huts.
Tidiane, 24, from Senegal, wants to find work in the plantations soon. Now, just a few days after arriving in Motril, he rents himself first as a dealer on the beach. He sells sunglasses. Tidiane stayed in Motril because his brother is there. He also came by boat. Although survival is not easy and the fear of expulsion is omnipresent, Tidiane has not regretted the risky journey. He firmly believes that his father has always told him at home: "In Europe, everything is better than in Africa."
Overall fewer arrivals in Europe
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) arrived in Spain since the beginning of the year about 21,000 refugees and migrants by boat. That's three times more than at the same time of the previous year. Pressure is also increasing in the North African enclaves of Spain, Ceuta and Melilla, which are closed by a barbed wire fence and so far, more than 3,100 arrivals have been recorded in these two cities since January. . Some 600 Africans stormed the border fence at Ceuta and arrived on Spanish soil. In Greece, the number of arrivals also increases, but much more moderately than in Spain: in Greece, nearly 16,000 migrants have arrived in 2018 so far. Minister of the Interior calls for more EU support In Italy, which was still the main destination for migration in the Mediterranean in 2017, fewer and fewer boats are arriving: in 2018, 18 000 people landed in southern Italy against 95,000 at the same time last year In summer, the new home of migration was the total number of people crossing the Mediterranean to the south of 39; Europe in 2018: According to the IOM, 55,000 migrants have been registered since the beginning of the year on the coasts of Southern Europe against 112,000 the previous year. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has asked for more EU help to cope with the crisis this weekend: "The migration problem is a European problem and requires a European solution. "
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