Undeterred by Coronavirus Pandemic, Migrants Head to Spain’s Canary Islands

TELDE, KOMPAS.com – The coronavirus pandemic has not stopped the ongoing arrivals of migrants into Spain’s Canary Islands.

Sixteen-year-old Madassa Mohammed stepped on a rickety boat that helped him cross Africa to the Canary Islands back in March.

He was not aware that the coronavirus pandemic swept across Europe at the time, and even if he did, it would not have mattered.

Mohammed is among the thousands of other African migrants who have been arriving in droves on the Spanish archipelago.

Read also: Ex-Smugglers Find Few Benefits of EU Funds to Curb African Migration

From a farming family in Mauritania, Mohammed said he came looking for work after his father died, leaving them penniless.

"I'm the oldest and the one who needs to earn the money. My siblings are too young," he explained at a safe house for unaccompanied minors in Telde on Gran Canaria.

"I was forced to cross the sea to look for work: it's risky but it's all about money."

He arrived in March as the Covid-19 virus was spreading like wildfire across Europe at a time when west Africa had barely registered any infections.

Read also: Gallup Poll Shows Migrant Acceptance on the Decline Globally