After the arrival of the boats in the last two weeks, the La Santa shelter has been saturated and the Casa del Marino has had to be used to house other unaccompanied minors. The Minister of Social Welfare Marciano Acuña, in a recent interview on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, has revealed that the number of minors arriving on the island has "significantly increased" compared to the previous year, with this 2023 being about "525 minors".
Many of them are currently housed in the La Santa shelter, which has exceeded by 15% the number of people it can house. "We have 100 young people right now", says Acuña. "We set a limit of 80 people, although the reasonable thing is not to exceed 40 or 50 young people", he adds.
In addition, in the old Casa del Marino in Arrecife, opened to welcome young migrants, there are already "forty minors", he pointed out. After an agreement between the Ministry and the Government of the Canary Islands to open devices throughout the Archipelago. Another of the reception places is the apartment enabled in Yaiza, which houses "twenty young people", recalls the councilor.
Last weekend has been "very difficult" after the arrival of 17 boats to Lanzarote. This is how Acuña describes it: "The most complicated I have experienced so far", he says. "In 15 days, 8,000 people have arrived in the Canary Islands", something that "we are not used to seeing", he says surprised.
"Last weekend was the most complicated I have experienced so far"
Marciano Acuña stresses that "these special situations test us as a society" and invites us to raise awareness "it is not normal for the Canary Islands to bear the crisis for being the southern border", he stressed. "We must redouble our efforts to manage the crisis".
He also makes clear the situation in which the Canary Islands feels in terms of aid: "abandoned and unprotected". And he again asks that "these transfers take place and ask for solidarity between the islands". In addition to the islands, a State commitment is necessary "between the communities" and "to make a distribution" so that unaccompanied minors can reach their destination that "is not in the Canary Islands", but rather "in the Peninsula", he concludes.