The Spanish Ministry of the Interior has refused to provide any information on the repatriation flights of Moroccans from the Canary Islands, including the number of people repatriated, the cost of round-trip tickets to Laâyoune or the number of police officers mobilized for the operation.
The main farmers’ organizations in the Canary Islands are asking the European Union to modify the trade agreement with Morocco, which continues to export the same quantity of agricultural products to the European market, despite the UK’s departure from the EU. They denounce "unfair competition" from Rabat.
The number of immigration candidates, dead or missing at sea while trying to reach Spain on pateras or boats, reached nearly 2,100 (2,087) in the first half of 2021, almost equaling the record of 2020 (2,170).
The Canary Islands Air Force considers the tension between Spain and Morocco as "political" and "does not see it as a threat", said Fernando Torres San José, the Chief of Staff of the Canary Islands Air Command (MACAN).
The airline Binter resumes this Monday, June 21, the flights connecting the Canary Islands to Agadir airport, after several months of suspension due to the health crisis.
The poor reception and unsanitary conditions of migrant centers expose them to various diseases and psychological problems. This is revealed in a report published Tuesday by Médecins du Monde.
After a slight delay, the process of selecting a shipping company for the operation of a mixed maritime line (passengers and goods) between the port of Tarfaya and one of the ports of the Canary Islands is coming to an end in a few days.
A Moroccan and his wife operate a hair salon located in a shopping center in Arguineguin near the port of Gran Canaria, which they actually use to produce fake travel documents for Moroccan and other African migrants. The network was dismantled by the police.
For months, hundreds of Moroccan migrants have been sleeping on the streets in Gran Canaria. One of them, Mohamed Alaoui (pseudonym), accompanied by a volunteer from Somos Red, is unsuccessfully scouring the city in search of accommodation. Desperate, he tries to travel with a passport and an asylum application, but is turned away at the airport.
Achim, a Moroccan migrant who arrived in the Canary Islands in December from Dakhla, is a gay man who is requesting political asylum due to his sexual orientation.
Many Moroccan migrants, like Tafik and Hassan, stranded in detention centers in the Canary Islands after arriving by boat and kayak, are expelled by flight each week to Laayoune. Yet they are ready to do anything to return to Spain, at the risk of their lives.
A 32-year-old Moroccan, homosexual, has obtained political asylum in the Canary Islands. He had fled the kingdom because of the pressure of his family who, unaware of his homosexuality, was pushing him to get married.