The small Canary Island of El Hierro is overwhelmed by a sudden influx of people seeking protection from Africa and feels left alone by the Spanish government.
Valverde – The small Canary Island of El Hierro in Spain is currently apparently hopelessly overwhelmed by the arrival of people seeking protection: By mid-October this year, 80 percent more migrants had fled to the archipelago than in the same period last year, Thousands recently arrived on El Hierro. The Canarian Prime Minister Fernando Clavijo accused the central government in Madrid of “inaction”. Due to increased controls in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic escape route via the Canary Islands has recently become increasingly important, even though it is long and dangerous.
More migrants than residents: Small Canary Island cannot cope with influx
In 2023, 32,000 people seeking protection arrived on the Canary Islands by sea, the highest number since 2006. The conditions were “unsustainable,” commented Prime Minister Clavijo in October. The numbers reflect the humanitarian emergency currently taking place in the Canary Islands, said the conservative politician. “We are stunned and perplexed by the silence of a Spanish government that appears to be completely indifferent to events related to migration and the pressures that all Canary Islands are facing,” criticized Clavijo. Particularly affected is El Hierro, which is located around 400 kilometers off the west coast of North Africa and 1,450 kilometers from the Spanish mainland in the Atlantic. The island is less than half the size of Hamburg with around 11,000 inhabitants.
At the end of October, 1,457 refugees arrived there in several small ships in just one weekend. In total there were 12,000 migrants this year – more than the island’s population. They said they couldn’t cope with such an influx.
“The Herreños are a helpful and sensitive people who know first-hand what emigration means,” said a statement. But they are “neither prepared in terms of area, population nor resources to handle such a large number of migrants.” For comparison: around a thousand beds are available for tourists on the island. Local media are already talking about the “Spanish Lampedusa”. The Italian island of Lampedusa is a hub for irregular migration in Europe – and shines a spotlight on the EU refugee policy, which does not find sustainable, humane solutions.
The escape route to El Hierro, which is far from the coast, claimed at least 500 lives
The renewed increase in the number of migrants can generally be attributed to a “destabilization of the Sahel region,” said Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska during a visit to the Canary Islands in October. The political and social crisis in Senegal in particular is seen as one reason for the increase. Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura are actually closer to the African mainland than El Hierro, but recently Spain has been increasingly monitoring these routes in collaboration with Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia. “The refugee ships are now trying to avoid border guard controls by sailing as far away from the coast as possible,” an official from the Spanish Maritime Emergency Service told the newspaper Daily Mirror with.
This tactic leads to high numbers of victims. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 500 people have died on the escape route to the Canary Islands since the beginning of the year. From the perspective of private aid organizations, the number of unreported cases could be significantly higher.
“Safe access routes are needed to avoid dangerous sea crossings,” the UNHCR has been calling for for a long time. In addition, states should step up the fight against human smuggling and smuggling networks, according to the organization. Anyone who survives the crossing to El Hierro is accommodated in makeshift emergency shelters. Because there is no reception center on the island. “We stand in solidarity and try to help as much as possible,” said island President Alpidio Armas. “But our options are limited.” (bme)
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