MADRID, 20 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The CGT union delegate and Maritime Rescue sailor in the Canary Islands, Manuel Capa, explained to Europa Press the “emotional and physical burden” involved in each rescue of migrants carried out on the high seas. Thus, since they receive the notice, they sail for between seven or eight hours that culminate in four minutes, which are the ones that usually last the “key moment” of the rescue and that become “eternal” due to the need to save these people quickly.
Capa has specified that, along with his companions, he is on duty on the ship 24 hours a day for a whole month. “In the port we are doing maintenance work, each one depending on the job they have. An emergency can happen at any moment and that is when we mobilize”, he has detailed.
The number of migrants who have arrived in Spain irregularly by sea has increased by 10.3% so far in 2023, up to 18,069 people, highlighting the increase in those who arrive in the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, 37.1% more compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, the number of boats has increased by 1.07%, with 9 more than last year (847).
“In the last 15 days, some 1,000 people have been rescued in the Canary Islands,” said Capa, who added that, in the Canary Islands, the trade winds prevail during the summer months of June, July and August, so The number of migrants arriving at this time of the year is not especially high, compared to the period between September and December.
“In 2018, 2019 and 2020 we were in the Alborán area. Now we are in the Canary Islands, in Lanzarote, due to the workload there is. We have also passed through Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, it depends a little on the migratory movement there is” , has detailed.
Regarding the boats used, Capa advances that rubber boats are proliferating, since they can be inflated “anywhere” and are easy to hide. Regarding the conditions in which migrants arrive in these boats, he has assured that they do so “very tired”, depending on the journey they have made.
“The one that leaves from Tarfaya, in front of Lanzarote, is not the same as the one that leaves from Dakhla, three days sailing from Gran Canaria. Those that are arriving now are the cayucos that come from Senegal, which are taking 10 to 12 days, without comfort conditions. They arrive numb, cold and dehydrated,” he lamented.
In addition, people who arrive in an irregular situation by sea usually suffer some type of setback in the boat that, on occasions, ends up capsizing. Faced with this situation, Capa has indicated that it is necessary to use all the buoyancy elements available on board in order to try to pick up these people “little by little”.
Finally, as a CGT delegate, Capa has asked for more means to avoid events like the one that occurred this past Thursday, where 60 migrants died in a shipwreck in Cape Verde while trying to reach the Canary Islands. “If the crew members are tired, both physically and mentally, there is a greater chance of some type of accident,” he concluded.
