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ARCHIVED - Two crew of fishing boat which brought 79 Algerians to Murcia last week arrested
Normally smaller boats are used to bring irregular migrants to Spain
The two "pateristas" who brought 79 Algerians in a fishing boat to Cartagena last week have been arrested, after the Policia Nacional was able to formally identify them.
Initially several of those on board claimed to be the captain and it has taken some time to formally identify the men responsible; should the captain and his mate have remained anonymous, then the police would have no choice other than to release them along with the passengers, enabling them to make their way back to Algeria and undertake another run. The boat has been seized and sent to the police pound.
The two men are Algerian nationals aged 44 and 46 who are being linked by the National Police to a criminal organization dedicated to trafficking in human beings.
The boat was intercepted on the 11th September, six nautical miles out from the coast of Cartagena and as the boat was already in Spanish waters was escorted into the port rather than being turned back out of Spanish waters.
A large boat to transport 79 people
The normal type of boats used by the “pateristas” for transporting migrants to Spain are usually small in size, low or medium power engines, are generally not suitable for sailing on the open seas, and are occupied by an average of between 10 and 15 people crammed inside. However, on this occasion the organization used a fishing boat, approximately 20 meters in length, with a total of 79 Algerian citizens on board.
The boat was signwritten with Arabic text, but flew no flags, and questions have been asked as to how a vessel this size could have escaped the SIVE radar vigilance system as well as the aerial patrols flown by the Spanish coastguard and come so close to Cartagena before being detected and apprehended. It turns out that the boat was spotted when it was 24 nautical miles from the coastline, but the coastguard was unable to reach it for two hours, as the Río Guadalentín patrol vessel was busy dealing with the arrival of two other smaller pateras at the time, containing 19 and 14 people.
Every migrant has to be tested for Covid; those who prove to be Covid-positive are being hospitalised and their travelling companions quarantined. Once they have completed quarantine, they are free to leave as there is no mechanism currently available to Spain to repatriate them to Algeria until borders re-open. This is fuelling the drive for the thousands of would-be migrants waiting for a chance to get to Europe to do so at the moment, with the weather calm and the authorities powerless to repatriate.
During the last few weeks the Region of Murcia has received multiple boatloads of irregular migrants from Algeria.
This year the number of migrations to Spain has been lower than normal, due prinicipally to the restrictions caused by Covid-19, but in recent weeks there has been an upsurge in activity as organised crime gangs take advantage of the opportunity to bring increased numbers of economic migrants into Spain.
The desire to seek a better life and try to find employment is understandable, as unemployment is high in Algeria, the country is suffering from severe economic problems, and opportunities, particularly for young people, are extremely limited. Political opposition against the current régime has lead to public protests and an increased level of dissatisfaction within the country, leading many particularly young people to look at Europe as potentially offering better opportunities.
A migrant we spoke to a short time ago stated that Spain was not the ultimate destination for the migrants and that many would continue their journeys to France and Belgium, although some would continue on to try and reach the UK.
Although the number of migrants targeting the Murcia region as an entry point has been more noticeable in the last 3 months, the overall totals of migrants entering Spain via the Western Mediterranean route has fallen considerably, mainly due to the almost complete absence of Moroccans making the journey to enter Europe via the Spanish coastline.
Frontex, the EU border force, reports that there were nearly 1 600 detections of illegal border crossings on the Western Mediterranean migratory route in August 2020, 7% less than in the previous month.
The total for the first eight months of 2020, was nearly half the figure from the same period in the previous year at 8,200, down 46%.
However, Algerians have accounted for nearly two-thirds of all detections on the route this year, and the August figure was six times the figure from a year ago, which ties in with the deteriorating economic and political situation in Algeria, and the border closure in Morocco, which is preventing many of the sub-Saharan migrants getting into Morocco in the first place.
The distance for Algerians to the Spanish coastline favours the Murcia Region and Alicante as chosen destinations, the increase in Algerians logically leading to an increased level of traffic to Murcia.
Earlier this week three boats containing 42 migrants reached the coast of Alicante province, arriving in Benidorm, l’Alfàs and Xàbia.
NB: The migrants are referred to as “irregular immigrants” by the EU; the Spanish media tend to call them “sin papeles” meaning those with no paperwork entering the country illegally, others refer to them as illegal migrants. The phrase irregular migrants is used on MT in an attempt to convey that these are not refugees, but economic migrants, in this case from Algeria, entering Spain and the EU in an illegal fashion, without passports or documentation and without any legal right to enter the EU as Algeria is not an EU member and there is no migration agreement between the two countries.
Donate to Cruz Roja; Humanitarian work to ensure those arriving in Spain are treated with dignity is undertaken by the humanitarian organisation Cruz Roja. If you would like to donate, here is the link: Cruz Roja Española
Further reading
EU Action plan against Migrant Smuggling 2015/2020 Click to read
EU Directive f2008/115/EC Common standards and procedures in EU Member States for returning illegally staying third country nationals. Click to read
FRONTEX European coast guard and border control agency. This explains more about the migration issue and shows the different routes taken. Our routes here are the "Western Mediterranean" routes used principally by Moroccans And Algerians.Click Frontex