Canary Islands invite Ursula von der Leyen to witness migrant crisis firsthand
A person dies every 45 minutes on the Atlantic crossing to the Archipelago, according to the Canary Islands government spokesperson.
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00:00The dramatic increase of migrants to Spain's Canary Islands has prompted calls for action.
00:15This was the announcement from the Canarian government in response to a 126%
00:20increase in dinghies arriving from Africa. As of early August, over 22,300 people have been
00:27recorded.
00:46More than 4,800 people have died this year across the Atlantic,
00:51making it the deadliest migratory route.
00:58The ocean swallows the lives of those who try to reach Europe in crossings of up to a week.
01:03They risk their lives for several reasons.
01:22Lala is a lawyer specialised in migration.
01:27She is one of the professionals who assists those who arrive disoriented to the island of Lanzarote.
01:51The situation is further complicated with migrant minors arriving alone.
01:56In order to refer them to other parts of Spain, they have to have the approval of those territories.
02:02Canarias is assuming more than 6,000 minors arriving alone,
02:06not to mention other centres of minors, because the rest of the autonomous communities are not
02:10willing to do so. This means that the minors are trapped in Canarias.
02:17Trapped and suffocated because the authorised centres cannot cope.
02:22In one year, the islands have gone from 36 centres to 81.
02:32Experts say that in addition to diplomacy, there is a need for policies in the countries of origin
02:38to improve the lives of these people.
02:40The visit of President Sánchez to the emitting countries aims to stop the migratory flow to Canarias.
02:46It is a migratory flow that leaves this other image, that of the cemeteries of Cayucos,
02:52a tangible reality that the neighbours of Reinaga see every day.
02:56From Gran Canaria for Euronews, Efren Hernández.
03:02Euronews.com