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A British newspaper recently claimed that the wave of illegal immigrants that
hit Spanish shores last week, were all destined for Britain.
It is true that Spain is struggling to cope with a sudden influx of illegal African migrants. It is true that they have been landing in the Canary Islands and in unprecedented numbers. What is not true is that Britain is their ultimate destination.
Spain has long been a target of illegal migrants from Africa and has finally requested help from the EU. It is the nearest part of Europe after all and there is a long standing, and legal migration from Morocco, which tends to draw further immigrants from there due to family connections.
African immigrants from further south, seem to aim for Spain specifically and for the same reason. As with so much in life, it is all about who you know.
A typical example of Africans who make their way to Spain, is a young man called Hassan, an illegal entrant working in Catalonia.
Hassan is 29 years old and was an English teacher in the Gambia, where he was born. He was also the sole salary earner in a family of nine. For teaching English and two African languages at primary school he earned 417 Dalasis (£8.50) a month.
Hassan lived with his parents, brothers and sisters in rural Gambia. They are subsistence farmers who need to buy rice to live, as their own food production is insufficient. The cost of one month’s supply of rice reached 700 Dalasis and has since risen further. This is the reason that Hassan began his journey.
Hassan set of for Spain, with a small amount of money collected from his community. He journeyed through Guinea, Mauritania, Mali and Niger by train or hitching lifts. He walked a great deal of the way and crossed the Sahara mostly on foot with a group who banded together for support.
They were robbed in Algeria and the bandits punctured all water containers searching for anything of value. Two of the group died as a result.
Hassan survived the journey, even though he and a friend were left, when his friend could walk no further due to dehydration.
Hassan used his knowledge of bushcraft and found a small pool of water near a cave of bats. He carried his friend there to recover for two days before finally walking into Libya.
Hassan worked for a year as a garden boy, learned Arabic and saved $1000 to fund the remaining part of the trip.
He spent another year in Morocco, living in terrible conditions, from where he took a boat journey to the Canary Islands. He, and incredibly, 37 others, crammed into a 3metre boat that leaked and had a faulty motor.
They bailed for three days, on the point of sinking and resigned to death, they were rescued by the Spanish coastguard. It was a journey of almost 200 miles.
Hassan is a quiet, shy, young man and reports good treatment from the Spanish authorities before they flew him to Madrid for processing. He was then given 20 Euros and a bus ticket to Barcelona where his friend Samba, a legal entrant, lives with his family.
Hassan arrived last November after his three year journey and has worked ever since. First picking pine cones for 10 Euros a day (£7) and more recently in a garden centre for a wage of 5 Euros per hour. His savings have rocketed as a result, from 765Euros to 2400 (£1670) now.
His aim is to earn enough to buy his family a home in Banjul where they can get work. He wants to go home and misses his family but must stay for now and earn enough to support them.
He has a few months left to get legal status. Since finding a proper job his chances have increased. His boss is willing to help him apply, which is a big factor in the process.
Hassan’s story is typical and the Spanish recognise that these people are motivated and hard working. They get few benefits and seldom seek them.
The Catalan builder who worked on my house last year, brought with him a Ghanaian, Munir, as a labourer. Munir is charming and articulate and his boss was full of praise for his work ethic and liguistic skills.
Like Hassan, Munir speaks perfect English and very good Arabic and French as well as three African languages. He also speaks excellent Spanish and as his boss, Feran, proudly pointed out, increasingly good Catalan too.
There are large numbers of Africans here and most seem to find work easily and on the whole are well received. There is exploitation too but as Spain is desperate for labour, opportunities are plentiful.
Munir told me that he had tried England as he had legal entry there but he couldn’t stand the cold. Undaunted by cultural or linguistic barriers, he simply moved somewhere warmer. He sends money home to his wife and children.
Most migrants to Europe aim for a family or social connection, the fear that they are targeting benefits is largely unfounded. Most want to make serious money and are willing to put in the effort to do so.
If they are any threat at all to the indigenous population it is though their work ethic and abilities and I suspect that here lies the root of discomfort for many Britons, even though few want the jobs that immigrants do.
Socially most of the African immigrants in Spain are good citizens. They keep a low profile and are not seen as a threat to crime levels, unlike Moroccan and Romanian illegals, who are.
Obviously this is a difficult area, as there are many hard working well integrated Moroccans here and they seem to be well tolerated. However a few high profile groups of Moroccan and Romanian criminals have created a perception that cannot help their fellows
Many of the principles of the Spanish situation apply in Britain too. Most immigrants seek entry into a country where they have connections. This was again highlighted in a BBC radio feature this week. Illegal immigrants usually find work, often at very low wages.
Once again those interviewed had not claimed benefit and had simply found jobs, tried to improve their lot and send money home. This was confirmed by a charity spokesperson working with migrant workers.
Hassan and his fellow immigrants have scaled an obstacle course that no corporate selection process dare devise. Given that most of Europe is in need of people willing and able to fill jobs that Europeans do not want, we seem to be missing a valuable opportunity by not harnessing this resource in a more constructive fashion.
A government willing to be bold could perhaps devise a scheme that gave legal entry to an EU country on a five year visa, for example. Perhaps those who wished to simply earn a pot of gold and return home could do so?
As we all know, efforts are being made to resolve Africa’s problems and it is clear that the migrants I have spoken to would prefer a decent quality of life in their homeland.
So, maybe we need to relocate some call centres to Africa rather than India? Or establish some factories making trainers. Either way political imagination is needed to resolve the root causes of the problem, rather than simply building stronger fences.
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