This Friday, the Canary Islands has witnessed a dramatic increase in the migration crisis, with the arrival of ten cayucos carrying a total of 844 migrants of sub-Saharan origin, according to Maritime Rescue sources. The last three canoes arrived at the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
In the case of Tenerife, a vessel was detected by the Integrated External Surveillance System (SIVE) eight miles from Punta de Rasca. To rescue her, Salvamar Alpheratz went to the scene and escorted the boat to the port of Los Cristianos, where 119 migrants of sub-Saharan origin disembarked.
Simultaneously, Salvamar Macondo participated in the rescue of two other canoes near Gran Canaria, after being detected about five miles from Maspalomas. These cayucos transported 51 people in one and 44 men and two women in another, and were later taken to the Arguineguín dock.
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has expressed his concern about the Government’s insufficient response to this growing migration crisis. Clavijo used social media to criticize the lack of action by the central government. He pointed out that “not a visit, nor a call, nor a response to our demands” has been made despite the “strong rebound in the dangerous Canary Route.”
Clavijo emphasized that, day after day, the Canary Islands alone face a dramatic humanitarian problem with numbers of migrant arrivals that are unaffordable, especially on the island of El Hierro, which has seen a significant increase in arrivals in recent years. months.
The return of the cayucos to the Canary Route has had an overwhelming impact on the island of El Hierro, which has seen numbers of immigrant arrivals that it has not experienced for years. According to data provided by the Red Cross and obtained by EFE, in the last five months, the island has received a total of 4,366 immigrants, with almost a thousand of them minors.
For several months, inflatable boats had dominated the shorter crossings to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, but the situation changed drastically this summer, especially since September, placing El Hierro at the center of the migration crisis.
Throughout 2022 and the first half of 2023, it seemed that the Canary Route was stabilizing and even decreasing, with 15,682 arrivals in 2022, 30% less than in 2021. Until May 31, 2023, the flow of immigrants had decreased by 47% compared to the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior. However, these numbers do not include breakdowns by island, which the Red Cross does keep.
Until May 3, Lanzarote was the island with the most arrivals, followed by Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. But the situation changed significantly until October 6, with a total of 18,001 arrivals, according to provisional Red Cross data.
Migratory pressure remains intense in Lanzarote, which has accumulated 5,142 arrivals, while El Hierro has surpassed Gran Canaria as the second island with the most arrivals, with around 4,384 immigrants. Tenerife has also experienced a significant increase, surpassing Fuerteventura in the statistics, with 2,731 and 1,697 arrivals, respectively.
Caring for immigrant minors is an urgent concern, with 1,008 minors arriving in El Hierro in 2023, including six infants and 33 children between three and eleven years old, according to Red Cross data.
To alleviate the pressure on El Hierro, the Government Delegation has diverted almost all new arrivals, both adults and minors, to other islands in some cases in less than 24 hours.
The increase in arrivals to El Hierro has been constant during the summer, reaching levels unknown since the “cayuco crisis” in 2006, according to members of the emergency services.
In the last week, the situation has worsened significantly, with 1,659 people arriving in 14 cayucos in four days, according to updated data. In addition to the number of arrivals, records have also been broken for the size of the canoes on the Canary Route, with boats with up to 271 occupants.
The Canary Route has also experienced a fundamental change, since previously the canoes did not head to El Hierro and were left adrift for weeks before being rescued in its surroundings.
