Migrants from Africa face many perils at Canary Islands

"The boat carrying Ismael Outtara and his family had been adrift in the Atlantic Ocean between southern Morocco and the island of Tenerife for several days. And then within 24 hours his 1-year-old daughter and his wife died. "My daughter died in my arms," Outtara told DW. "The next morning, my wife simply didn't wake up. I think it was because of the shock of her death.""

""The dead were simply thrown into the sea immediately," the Ivorian remembers. "The others didn't ask for permission." The tragedy happened four years ago. It still pains Ouattara how other passengers treated the bodies of his family. At least there were no outbreaks of violence among the surviving boat passengers afterward, according to the Ivorian. This is not unusual in such extreme situations on board."

"Mohammed Manga told DW that he had survived a harrowing experience while crossing to the Canary Islands. "There was a lot of violence on our boat," the young Gambian, who arrived on the Canary Islands in 2023, said. "On the fourth day at sea, some panicked and accused each other of being witches." Many migrants who have made the voyage describe similarly explosive experiences."

The boat carrying Ismael Ouattara and his family drifted in the Atlantic between southern Morocco and Tenerife for several days, during which his one-year-old daughter and his wife died within 24 hours. The dead were thrown into the sea immediately without permission, and the treatment of the bodies continues to pain Ouattara. Survivors generally did not erupt into violence after the deaths, though violent outbursts and panic regularly occur on such crossings. Mohammed Manga described intense violence and accusations of witchcraft aboard his 2023 crossing, resulting in injuries and no later accountability. Many migrants reach the Canary Islands after surviving similarly horrifying conditions at sea.

Read at www.dw.com