SENEGAL: Talks in Dakar between President Abdoulaye Wade and Spain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon on illegal immigration to Europe

Record ID: 348654

  • Title: SENEGAL: Talks in Dakar between President Abdoulaye Wade and Spain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon on illegal immigration to Europe
  • Date: 1st June 2006
  • Summary: (W1) DAKAR, SENEGAL (MAY 31, 2006) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SPANISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, BERNARDINO LEON, ADDRESSING JOURNALISTS AT THE SENEGALESE PRESIDENCY (SOUNDBITE)(English) SPANISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, BERNARDINO LEON, SAYING: "We are not against immigration, we are against illegal immigration. So we are trying to establish a framew
  • Embargoed: 16th June 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Senegal
  • Country: Senegal
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA98FRR9YHCHDKVFF4MP615D5QP
  • Story Text: Spain on Wednesday (May 31) started sending back to Senegal some of nearly 9,000 Africans whose arrival by boat in the Canary Islands this year has led to a diplomatic drive by Madrid to close the door on illegal immigration.
    After talks in Dakar with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, Spain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon said 100 migrants from Senegal were being flown home on Wednesday.
    They represent the first batch of more than 600 who would be repatriated in the coming days.
    "Even though we don't have a (repatriation) agreement with Senegal, these repatriations have started today," Leon told reporters.
    In an effort to stem the flow of migrants from Senegal to Europe, Spain would engage in projects in Senegal, including farming and infrastructure projects aimed at creating jobs and persuading young people to stay in their country.
    ''We are not against immigration, we are against illegal immigration. So we are trying to establish a framework for co-operation on different fields, first of all to contribute to the stabilisation of populations in Senegal through projects of infrastructure, projects of agriculture and also establishing the possibility of legal migration for those who want to settle in Europe,'' he explained.
    Leon is spearheading a Spanish diplomatic offensive aimed at halting an exodus of thousands of illegal migrants who are leaving West Africa crowded into open boats in a bid to reach Europe via the Canaries in search of work and a better life.
    Hundreds are believed to drown on the perilous journey which takes them over more than 1,000 km (600 miles) of open sea from the long coasts of Mauritania and Senegal to the Canaries, Spanish territory from where they hope to gain entry to Europe.
    The wave of migration has become one of Spain's hottest political issues and the conservative opposition says criminals are sneaking into Spain through leaky borders.
    But in small Senegalese coastal villages like Thiaroye Sur Mer, near Dakar, life has little to offer other than the hope of getting a rare seat in a fishing boat headed for the Canaries.
    Some 9,000 illegal migrants from West Africa have made the crossing to Spain's Canary Islands so far this year, but hundreds have drowned in the attempt after their rickety wooden boats ran out of fuel or broke up in rough seas.
    Boats leaving Senegal are largely organised by local fisherman, who say they use the money to repair their vessels and pay for fuel and food for the six to seven day crossing.
    More than 20 young men from Thiaroye died when their pirogue -- a traditional, brightly-painted fishing boat -- sank in February en route to the Canaries. Still the exodus continues.
    A muezzin at the local mosque, Abdul Ndoye Mbaye explained why. "We don't have the means to make them (young people) stay here. There is no life here. It is better to go and try your luck. You get in or you die."
    Until the economic situation at home improves for these young men, increased security cooperation and naval patrols are unlikely to be enough to stop the exodus.
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