At least 15 would be migrants, many of them young children, have died
off the coast of Spain in an attempt to reach Europe from Africa in a
small boat. The incident is the second this week in which would-be
migrants to Spain have perished, and comes as both European and African
leaders are again addressing the migration issue. Brent Latham has
more from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.
The migrants were
aboard a small craft that was attempting to make the crossing from
Africa to Spain. Spanish police said of the 15 reported deaths, at
least nine were children, aged from nine months to four years,
according to rescued survivors.
A total of 34 survivors were
found by the Spanish Coast Guard about 40 kilometers off the coast of
southern Spain. The Spanish police said that the exact number and age
of the dead could not be confirmed, because survivors had thrown some
of the bodies overboard.
Survivors told police they had spent five days at sea.
The
tragedy was the second this week off the coast of Spain involving
Sub-Saharan African migrants. Earlier in the week at least 14 Nigerian
migrants are believed to have drowned when their boat capsized in heavy
seas.
Attempts to make the journey from Africa to Europe
increase during the European summer, says Olivia Acosta, a Spain-based
spokeswoman for the Red Cross. The Red Cross is called upon to assist
immigrants after they have arrived.
Acosta says in summer the seas are calmer, but the intense heat is oppressive.
The
rough conditions can be especially difficult on children. A spokesman
for Save the Children in Spain, who did not want to be named, said
mothers often bring their young children along on the journey.
He says that the children are particularly vulnerable, but their mothers are reluctant to leave them behind in poverty.
This
latest tragedy comes after some African leaders condemned new European
Union policies on illegal immigrants. At a conference on the issue in
Dakar on Wednesday, many African representatives spoke harshly about
new EU measures that could increase arrests and deportations of
migrants.
Senegal's Foreign Minister, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, told
reporters that he was surprised by the EU initiatives. He said that "the time has past when Europe decided things on its own and
Africa fell in line."
Under the new migration pact, if it is
finalized later this year, the EU would expel more illegal immigrants
and promote legal migration. One component which would attract more
educated migrants from Africa has been heavily criticized by some
detractors who have said the measures will make Africa poorer.
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