Boats emerge from Sahara sands to transport migrants to Spain

DAKHLA, Western Sahara (AP) – Under a starry Saharan sky, smugglers and handymen unearth a boat buried in the sand, a made-to-order vessel to transport migrants from the North African coast to Spain’s Canary Islands.

With seasoned skill, the men hoist the blue-bottomed wooden boat onto a four-wheel drive vehicle that will take it from this inland hideout to the shores of Western Sahara. From there, the boat is intended to take 20 to 30 migrants to the Atlantic Ocean and across what the European Union border agency calls ‘the world’s most dangerous migration route’.

The boat transfer is a crucial but little-seen part of the migrant smuggling chain in disputed Western Sahara – a business that thrived last year as the coronavirus pandemic plunged many Africans into poverty and, with other routes, stifled migration to the Canary Islands. jumped eightfold to the highest marks ever.

Encouraged by help from Spain and the EU, Moroccan authorities in control of Western Sahara – where some residents have long strived for independence – are increasingly resisting and thwarting a recent boat transfer, according to The Associated Press.

But many others succeed, as smugglers dodge police helicopter searchlights in the desert and reach coastal fishing villages around Dakhla. The peninsula town has a thriving fishing port and kite surfing enthusiasts flock to the water. But in recent months, the beaches have become a hot spot for smuggling networks looking to the Canary Islands 500 kilometers (300 miles) to the north.

While irregular crossings to Europe have declined overall in 2020, the route to the Canary Islands has increased significantly with around 22,600 migrants, making Spain the main entry point for migrants arriving last year, according to figures from the EU and the Spanish government. tried to reach the European coasts. At least 600 people died or disappeared while trying to make the trip.

The revival of the route has been made possible in part by COVID-19.

The pandemic wiped out livelihoods across Morocco by cutting off tourism revenues and periodically shutting down local businesses. While in the past most arrivals to the Canary Islands came from sub-Saharan Africa, now about half are Moroccans. According to the International Organization for Migration, there are also routinely departures from the West African coasts of Guinea, Gambia and Mauritania.

A Dakhla resident who arranges travel for migrants said economic difficulties led him to work for a smuggling network.

“We had to make money and feed our families,” the 32-year-old told the AP on condition of anonymity, because what he is doing is illegal.

He says he puts together one trip per week, while competitors send out up to 10 boats per night. He estimates that as many as half of migration attempts fail, either because of problems before departure or at sea.

A recent failure was visible on the shores of the Dakhla peninsula: the freshly charred remains of a migrating boat that caught fire. The fate of those on board is unclear.

Last year, IOM’s Missing Migrants Project provisionally registered 601 deaths or disappearances on the Canary Route, including at least 109 departing from Dakhla or found near Dakhla. They are still investigating eight missing boats with 355 people on board.

The Dakhla resident said migrants pay $ 2,000 for the trip – a huge amount in Morocco, where the typical worker earns a few hundred dollars a month – but would not say how much he earns himself.

“I don’t know where they get the money, but they want to leave at all costs,” he said.

One recent night, a group of smugglers left Dakhla and headed inland, followed by a vehicle carrying a dozen handymen. They passed police checkpoints and turned off the highway into the endless expanse of desert. The driver had a GPS coordinate on a phone and crossed the sand with the experience of someone who seemed to have taken the route many times.

At the meeting point, the men found a white tent and a young boat builder – and dug up a large boat.

Just as they were preparing to return, the smugglers received a message of police movement and were told to leave the boat. Within minutes, the craft was deep under the sand again – and the tent and equipment disappeared.

As the men drove back to town, police stopped their car and looked for signs of smuggling – but found none.

The carpenter said he built the boat in the desert to avoid drawing attention – a common practice, although sometimes smugglers simply buy boats from fishermen. The carpenter, who said he earns about 20,000 dirhams ($ 2,000) per ship, spoke on the condition of anonymity due to its connection to smuggling networks.

When such boats reach Dakhla, they find enough customers.

It can take up to four days to get to the Canary Islands, and people arrive in dire shape. According to the migration services, they generally do not take food with them on a trip and very little or no water.

But keeping people from taking the risk is a huge challenge in a global economic crisis. When border crossings skyrocketed last year to the highest level since the EU border agency began collecting data in 2009, Spain sent top officials to Senegal and Morocco in November to discuss how to stop the border crossings.

The EU provides development assistance to African countries to help them manage migration and has also established a € 5 billion ($ 6 billion) trust fund to address the problem. Moroccan police, for its part, have said they prevented nearly 10,000 migrants from crossing to Europe last year, and the government agreed to take back deported Moroccans.

Yet hundreds of people try the trip. Six deaths have already occurred on the Canary Route in 2021, most recently a boy who drowned.

“It is definitely one of the deadliest routes into the European Union,” Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told EU lawmakers on Tuesday. “And we don’t really know how many lives have been lost.”

___

Associated Press journalists Lorne Cook in Brussels, Renata Brito in Barcelona and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.