More deaths as Gambian migrants arrive on Canary Islands: summary

What we know

• 20 of 221 Gambian migrants attempting to travel to Spain by boat have reportedly lost their lives in the Mediterranean, local Gambian news outlet Fatu Network has reported.
• The migrants, journeying off the coast of Bakau, a town on the Atlantic coast of Gambia are part of many other Gambian citizens trying to reach the Canary Islands by sea in recent times.
• Huge numbers, over 22,000, have been recorded as arrivals on the islands from January to October 2023 with the majority of these persons from The Gambia and Senegal.
• Activists say that the number of women, minors and pregnant women embarking on these trips is concerning.

What they said

Spain’s Interior Ministry in its latest official data has seen a steady increase in the numbers, particularly from October 1, with over 8,000 arrivals in Spain in the first two weeks of October, with a large number of these migrations resulting in death. A migration activist based in Germany told the Fatu Network that “The Gambia Government is making very little or no effort about it. As usual, they will wait till a tragedy happens before they react. [The] Gambia is a very small country, and we all know that boat trips are organised in our communities. Where are the SIS, immigration department, and navy? Why can’t they track the smugglers and organisers of these boat trips?”