01/04/2024 12:05 pm (current 01/04/2024 12:05 pm)
Arrivals increase by more than 150% ©APA (AFP)
Refugee arrivals to the Canary Islands increased rapidly last year. As the Spanish press reported on Monday, a total of 39,910 African refugees on boats arrived on the Spanish Atlantic islands off the coast of West Africa in 2023. This corresponds to an increase of around 154 percent compared to the previous year. 90 percent of all migrants ended up on El Hierro, the smallest and southernmost island in the Canary Islands.
The reason is the increase in maritime controls in Mauritania, which is why refugees are starting further south, in countries such as Senegal and Gambia. The Spanish media already calls El Hierro the “Lampedusa of Spain”, in reference to the Italian island in the Mediterranean that has become a symbol of migratory movements from Africa to Europe in recent years.
According to experts, the high increase in African refugees on boats in the Canary Islands is explained not only by the recent drought catastrophes in Africa, but also by political instability in numerous African states in the Sahel region, which have been ravaged by military coups and bloody unrest. for months.
Due to the growing number of boat refugees in the Canary Islands, the number of illegal immigrants in Spain increased to a total of 56,852 people last year – around 82 percent more than the previous year, 2022.