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ARCHIVED - Dozen boats of irregular migrants reach Almeria coast
Over 200 landed in neighbouring Murcia at the same time as criminal gangs continue mass launchings
This year the pattern of migration on the Western Mediterranean route has changed, with Algerians becoming the principal migrants as wave after wave of small boats (pateras) continue to arrive on the coastlines of Murcia, Almeria and Alicante, with mass launchings becoming the norm, criminal gangs organising these “waves of small boats”.
On Wednesday, 15 boats reached Murcian waters with 223 Algerian migrants detected, and at the same time, a dozen boats were heading for Almería waters, with both Magrebi and Algerian migrants on board. Several boats were also detected on Tuesday as well as three men trying to cross on a jetski who were rescued out at sea.
A dozen boats with migrants on board have arrived in the last 24 hours on the Levante coast of the province of Almería reaching the beaches of Níjar, Carboneras, Mojácar, Pulpí and Cuevas del Almanzora, a spokesman for the emergency service 112 confirmed on Thursday morning.
The 54 occupants of six of the boats were located by the Civil Guard upon disembarking throughout the day on Wednesday and were attended by members of the Red Cross, who had to provide health care for 15 of them.
On Wednesday The Civil Guard and the Red Cross attended a number of reported arrivals between 07:40 and 18:00, on the beaches of Mónsul, in the first boat three Maghreb adult males, one of them wounded were found; in the Cala de la Concha de Cuevas de Almanzora, 16 men, also all adults and of Maghreb origin landed; and on the Nijar beach of San José, 13 adult males arrived, of which seven required health care.
In San Juan de Los Terreros, in the municipality of Pulpí, five people were given help after disembarking, in Cala Arena, in Níjar, another eleven Maghreb adult males, seven of them also wounded, and on the beach of Los Muertos de Carboneras, six men.
Another six boats have reached land and been sighted on Thursday by residents of the area, who called 112, informing of the arrival in Playazo, in Níjar, and Sombrerico in Mojácar of two boats with 12 and 25 people on board. Another boat containing 12 people, "many minors", are being taken to the port of Endesa in Carboneras.
The emergency service also report calls at 9:00 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday that reported two boats with between 15 and 20 people had arrived at the Genoveses cove and the Aguamarga coast, in Nijar.
There are still no final totals available detailing the number of occupants, but there are believed to have been around 60 people in these pateras.
This year the number of migrations to Spain has been lower than normal, due prinicipally to the restrictions caused by Covid-19, but in recent weeks there has been an upsurge in activity as organised crime gangs take advantage of the opportunity to bring increased numbers of economic migrants into Spain.
The desire to seek a better life and try to find employment is understandable, as unemployment is high in Algeria, the country is suffering from severe economic problems, and opportunities, particularly for young people, are extremely limited. Political opposition against the current régime has lead to public protests and an increased level of dissatisfaction within the country, leading many particularly young people to look at Europe as potentially offering better opportunities.
A migrant we spoke to a short time ago stated that Spain was not the ultimate destination for the migrants and that many would continue their journeys to France and Belgium, although some would continue on to try and reach the UK.
Although the number of migrants targeting the Murcia region as an entry point has been more noticeable in the last 3 months, the overall totals of migrants entering Spain via the Western Mediterranean route has fallen considerably, mainly due to the almost complete absence of Moroccans making the journey to enter Europe via the Spanish coastline.
Frontex, the EU border force, reports that there were nearly 1 600 detections of illegal border crossings on the Western Mediterranean migratory route in August 2020, 7% less than in the previous month.
The total for the first eight months of 2020, was nearly half the figure from the same period in the previous year at 8,200, down 46%.
However, Algerians have accounted for nearly two-thirds of all detections on the route this year, and the August figure was six times the figure from a year ago, which ties in with the deteriorating economic and political situation in Algeria, and the border closure in Morocco, which is preventing many of the sub-Saharan migrants getting into Morocco in the first place.
The distance for Algerians to the Spanish coastline favours the Murcia Region and Alicante as chosen destinations, although many Algerians also head for Almería, the increase in Algerians logically leading to an increased level of traffic to these three destinations.
NB: The migrants are referred to as “irregular immigrants” by the EU; the Spanish media tend to call them “sin papeles” meaning those with no paperwork entering the country illegally, others refer to them as illegal migrants. The phrase irregular migrants is used on MT in an attempt to convey that these are not refugees, but economic migrants, in this case from Algeria, entering Spain and the EU in an illegal fashion, without passports or documentation and without any legal right to enter the EU as Algeria is not an EU member and there is no migration agreement between the two countries.
Donate to Cruz Roja; Humanitarian work to ensure those arriving in Spain are treated with dignity is undertaken by the humanitarian organisation Cruz Roja. If you would like to donate, here is the link: Cruz Roja Española
Further reading
EU Action plan against Migrant Smuggling 2015/2020 Click to read
EU Directive f2008/115/EC Common standards and procedures in EU Member States for returning illegally staying third country nationals. Click to read
FRONTEX European coast guard and border control agency. This explains more about the migration issue and shows the different routes taken. Our routes here are the "Western Mediterranean" routes used principally by Moroccans And Algerians.Click Frontex
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