People mobility has always existed, all over the planet. The casuistry of the reasons is diverse and, as I have reiterated on several occasions, when a person leaves their place of origin, family and friends to seek new opportunities, they do so with the sole objective of improving their life.
The Canary Islands knows the most dramatic face of irregular migration not only because of the incessant arrival of boats but also because of the death of those who fail to fulfill their dream. The last twenty-four, last week. When such tragic events occur, a single thought runs through my mind: how many people will throw themselves into the sea and simply disappear, never to be heard from again?
The activation of the Atlantic/African route was obvious: the pandemic situation, the difficulty of accessing other routes has led to a diversion of migratory flows towards the Canary Archipelago. A territory that has received 28,000 immigrants and is facing a desperate situation due to the political line that has been implemented from the State Government, which focuses on not transferring these people to other Autonomous Communities.
It is a real failure to propose the Canary Islands Plan from reception and returns, even more so when the countries of origin, mostly, refuse to receive their nationals. This is how they are turning the islands into a territory where migrants are trapped in an undoubted situation of violation of fundamental rights.
Irregular migration is a structural issue, focusing on it from another point of view is a serious mistake. The State Government is an accomplice to the disastrous policies of the European Union regarding migration policies. The fact that the member states cannot reach a homogeneous migration policy is one of the major problems. Years go by and we continue to implement the same policies that fail time and time again.
The Canary Archipelago, due to its geographical position, has become ideal for state and European migration policies, which are none other than keeping these people detained on the islands without providing a solution.
Faced with this, the question is this: are we testing the endurance of the Canarian people? Or let's put it another way: are we testing the patience of the people who come to our territory?
While all this is happening, the Government of the Canary Islands is very passive, without giving answers, waiting for a miracle, knowing that the Government of the State governed by PSOE and Podemos has committed serious errors of coordination between local and state administrations and, that all of them (Lanzarote, Canary Islands and State) are governed by the same ones.
I have repeated it on numerous occasions, in the Canary Islands the social situation is under a lot of pressure in terms of migration. Anyone who does not feel this situation is unaware of what is happening. And in the face of this, all we have is a submissive Government of the Canary Islands, conformist with Madrid, which seems to be unaware of the roadmap to follow, which does not demand, but accepts without protest while the islands resist. In addition, they forget to work on inclusion and integration, which helps to avoid extreme situations as has happened in other places.
When I was writing this article on the morning of Saturday, May 1, the local Security Forces located several young people who had arrived by boat on the island of Lanzarote on Friday morning. No one can remain impassive when you see these people disoriented, exhausted... However, have you seen the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote claim anything about immigration? Well, no, the attitude that has been taken from the island government is silence, because the partisan issue weighs much more than the general interest of the island.