In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, volunteers are helping young African migrants recover from water trauma on a Tenerife beach. Wearing swimming goggles and guided by Spanish volunteer instructors, these migrants took their first cautious steps into the knee-deep water, smiles masking their nervousness. The trauma stems from their dangerous journey to the Canary Islands from countries like Senegal and Mauritania. They traveled in fragile boats, with many barely surviving and some losing family or friends to the sea.
Jorge Balcazar, coordinator of Project Agua at the rescue charity Proemaid, explained the deep fear many migrants have when entering the water. Some had endured up to 15 days at sea, holding onto the volunteers’ hands tightly as if for dear life. The number of migrants arriving by sea to the Canary Islands rose dramatically by 160% from January to mid-July, reaching nearly 20,000 people, according to Spain’s interior ministry. This route accounts for most of Spain’s sea arrivals.
Walking Borders, a migration rights group, reported nearly 5,000 migrant deaths at sea on this route within the same period, an unprecedented number. Mamadou M Bathily, a 24-year-old IT specialist from Mali, shared his harrowing experience. He arrived in Tenerife a week ago via Senegal with 215 others. He emphasized the extreme danger and lack of choice that forced him to take such a risk.
Francisco Navarro from the non-profit organization ACCEM mentioned that volunteers work with groups of 35-40 migrants and aim to train about 450 during the summer. Proemaid’s Balcazar noted that they help both non-swimmers and those with some water experience to overcome their trauma. The changes in the migrants’ confidence and their gratitude provide the volunteers with a significant boost of energy.
Click here to join our WhatsApp channel to get latest news for & about migrants.