A handful of women on the streets of Las Palmas, a city in Spain’s Canary Islands, walk fast with their children, running around them, looking for precious goods left behind in large garbage containers, clothes, and toys for the children.
Aissata, a 22-year-old mother from Guinea, lost sight of her friends while caring for her 3-year-old daughter near a busy road. “I don’t know the way,” she says, panicked by the situation. Just one week ago, Aissata arrived with her daughter in the Spanish Archipelago off the northwest African coast, fleeing a violent marriage.
For Aissata, the danger of staying in Guinea outweighed the risks of crossing the Atlantic. Forced into a violent marriage at 14 years old and later threatened with her daughter’s circumcision, she saw no choice but to escape.
“We came from Mbour [city in Senegal] and spent 10 days at sea. Many of us were vomiting because of seasickness.” Aissata’s arms are covered with scarves. “Big waves flushed over us, and we are tossed around. The salty water damages our skin,” she says.
Her story is all too familiar to Khalifa (26) from Senegal, who arrived in Gran Canaria more than five years ago. He was more fortunate and could travel to Gran Canaria by plane with his parents. Still, he is close to the Senegalese community on the island, of which the vast majority arrive by flimsy boats. “Some people who spend more than 10 days at sea lose their lives. When you can’t eat or drink for that long, you can die.”
According to a report by the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras Caminando Fronteras, 4,808 people have died on the Canary Islands migration route in the first five months of 2024, making it by far the deadliest migration route to Europe.
Despite the risks of the journey, the number of arrivals has surged to unprecedented highs this year. The Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported that by November, 41,425 people had reached the Canary Islands this year. The figure is already more than the annual total of arrivals in 2023, with 39,910 people.
Ali Zoubeidi, a Moroccan Migration Researcher, argues that the stark increase is closely connected to Europe’s migration policy. “Securitisation of the Mediterranean route has increased significantly during the last years; therefore, more migrants are choosing to take the more dangerous Canarian route.”
Beyond the visible tragedies of shipwrecks, hidden health crises from days at sea account for many migrant deaths. “Usually, up until three days, migrants arrive relatively okay. Still, those who spend more than five days at sea frequently develop severe health complications,” local health professionals, who prefer to remain anonymous, told The New Arab.
“Dehydration due to a lack of drinking water, which can worsen when consuming seawater or urine, along with hypothermia from the cold and severe infections, have accounted for many deaths,” they added.
Europe’s migration deals
The journey across the Mediterranean to Europe is considered relatively safer than the route to the Canary Islands. Khalifa, who welcomes newly arrived Senegalese migrants in Las Palmas, has observed that many Senegalese still avoid travelling to North African countries.
“The conditions for migrants there are very difficult. There is too much violence in countries like Libya where they can torture you or put you in prison.”
These harsh conditions are not accidental, explains Migration Law Researcher Ruben Wissing. “For years, the EU has followed a policy of externalisation that prevents those in need of protection from reaching European member states, where they could apply for asylum or other forms of protection. As a result, they remain trapped in countries on the EU’s borders, where the EU does not invest enough in improving reception conditions or asylum procedures.”
According to Zoubeidi, European migration policies have also made the Canarian route increasingly perilous. “The shortest distance to the Canary Islands is from Moroccan southern coasts, but these areas have become heavily securitised. Thus, migration routes have shifted south, starting from Mauritania, Senegal, and even the Gambia. These longer journeys are much more deathly.”
The EU and Spain continue to increase efforts to close routes to the Canaries. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia in August to close migration deals. The deals focus, amongst others, on fighting human smugglers.
Yet, according to researcher Wissing, these efforts are ineffective and even counterproductive. “When securitisation increases in one border area, migrants are forced to rely more heavily on criminal networks, making the journey even more dangerous. As a result, these deals achieve the opposite of their stated goals, highlighting the hypocrisy of such migration agreements.”
Human cost
The human cost of the prolonged sea routes is felt in Gran Canaria. Aboubacar (35), Khalifa’s friend who had been timidly listening in on the conversation, eventually spoke up. “I stayed in the hospital only one day, but some people stay seven days or nine. Some even two months.”
The Senegalese man arrived in Gran Canaria with his 10-year-old son. His wife and 8-year-old daughter are still in Senegal. “I hope I can bring them here by plane one day.” The father and son initially spent four days on a boat from Senegal to Morocco to depart from Morocco to Gran Canaria, which took another four days.
“Every day we are wet, the salty water peals your skin open. We are lucky to survive. We hear stories of boats carrying ten dead on board, others twenty,” says Aboubacar.
“The deaths are thrown overboard. It’s impossible to take dead bodies over the sea,” says Khalifa, who tries to help his community by listening to their stories and helping them financially where he can. “A friend of mine lost his brother because there had been not enough food. They had to throw his body overboard.”
The health professionals on the island share similar harrowing stories. “One woman lost her 5-year-old daughter to the sea, and a 12-year-old girl arrived without her mother, who had died along the way.”
“These journeys take a profound toll on mental health,” they explain. “Many migrants arrive suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety, or insomnia. Extreme dehydration can even cause a mental condition that leads some to lose their sanity, sometimes forcing others to tie them for their and others’ safety.”
Despite knowing the extent of the horrors, Khalifa’s friends have embarked on the dangerous journey. “Life in Africa is getting more difficult. Many leaving Senegal are fishermen who cannot provide for their families.” Khalifa’s friend Aboubacar confirms: “I earned around 40.000 CFA (£50.58) a month in Senegal. It is too little to sustain my family. You must pay for rent, electricity, school, and food.”
Josefina Domínguez-Mujica, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, points out that the unprecedented influx of arrivals to the Canary Islands can be attributed to several factors, including the worsening conditions in certain sub-Saharan countries.
“The decline in traditional fishing activities in Gambia and Senegal due to the overexploitation of fishing grounds by foreign companies, growing political instability in Mali, and the disillusionment caused by unmet expectations after Senegal’s government transition are some important factors driving migration.”
Calling for help
According to local health workers, the resources available on the islands allocated to assist migrants are sometimes insufficient to provide proper treatment for those arriving with severe health complications.
“The extreme conditions migrants endure during days at sea result in deaths during transit and, in some cases, shortly after arriving on the islands. Last year, two people died shortly after arrival,” they noted. Although these cases are very isolated, health workers say they highlight the severity of the conditions in which migrants arrive.
“We have not noticed receiving any additional support from the Spanish government in terms of extra resources for this assistance, so we have managed as best we can with the resources we already have, which are limited.”
In October, Spanish and international NGOs called upon the Spanish government to improve the healthcare situation for migrants arriving in Spain.
The statement referred to the death of a 20-year-old Malian man in 2022 in a reception centre in Tenerife, as well as the death of another young man in a reception centre in El Hierro. The NGOs highlight the harsh conditions migrants face at sea and the need for specialised care upon arrival, urging the government to shift from an emergency response to structural solutions that address their complex socio-healthcare needs.
In September, the Canary Islands government also openly accused the Spanish government of neglecting its responsibility towards the Islands as it grapples with a migration “crisis.”
In the meantime, Aissaita and her daughter feel relieved that they have finally reached safety in Europe. Her daughter runs around under the grey sky of Las Palmas, her almond-shaped eyes filled with the same fierce determination that defines her mother. The child is full of life, seemingly unbroken by the 10 days at sea.
“It’s a genetic thing,” Aissata says with a small smile. “My mother had the same strength, but now the weight of her struggles has become too much. I hope to build a better life for my daughter and myself here in Europe and hopefully help my family in Guinea, too.”
Renée Boskaljon is a freelance journalist and migration researcher based in Morocco
