Small Islands’ Migration Drama

Sunbathing tourists have discovered unexpected company on the beaches of the Canary Islands lately, as boatloads of West African migrants wash up on the shores of this Spanish possession just off the Moroccan coast. These migrants make the life-threatening crossing to flee political upheaval in regions like Senegal’s separatist Casamance province and to seek better lives in the schools and labor markets of the West. Canary Islanders, however, are not eager to welcome the new strain on their own small economy. As the flow of immigrants increases, the islanders look for help from other EU members in coping with the foreign influx: “We are all Europeans now,” says one. Doubtless the migrants wish the same could be said for them. – YaleGlobal