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FinalCall.com News
World News
Spain pledges aid after deaths of African migrants
By Tito Drago
Updated Jul 31, 2008 - 10:05:00 AM
MADRID, Spain (IPS/GIN) - The only positive way to deal with illegal immigration is to fight poverty, said Spanish Prime Minister Josè Luis Rodrìguez Zapatero, upon learning of the deaths of 15 would-be migrants.
The African migrants, who had been trying to reach Europe by sea, died near the coast of the southern Spanish province of Almerìa, on the north shore of the Mediterranean. Zapatero gave a press conference July 10 in Athens, immediately after hearing about the deaths.
The migrants’ inflatable rubber dinghy—barely 6 meters in length—was intercepted at dawn July 10 by the maritime arm of the Guardia Civil militarized police. It had been at sea for five or six days, and it had been adrift for the last four days, after it was launched at an as yet unidentified point along the North African coast. Thirty-three immigrants were rescued alive, although most were in an appalling state of health.
One woman was found dead, and those rescued said another 14 people who began the journey with them had died on the way; their bodies had been thrown overboard.
Six of the dead were adults, and nine were babies and toddlers, aged one- to four-years-old. In some cases their bodies were cast into the water by their own parents “with great mourning and suffering,” said Francisco Vicente, the provincial coordinator of the Red Cross, which tended to the sick and injured survivors.
The Spanish prime minister expressed his sorrow at the occurrence and said his country would continue to increase the percentage of its gross domestic product devoted to development aid. The GDP channeled to aid has risen from 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent, and Mr. Zapatero predicted it would increase to 0.7 percent by the end of this legislative term, in 2012.
As for the African continent, Mr. Zapatero said, “Either we help Africa, and help in the fight against misery and despair, or our collective future as a place of progress and well-being will be called into question.”
“We are all sorry, and we can all feel sorrow, including the prime minister, but what we say and what we do must be consistent,” said Khar Moya of the Association for Solidarity with Black Africa.
“As well as expressing sorrow and asking for support for Africa, Zapatero should change the migration policy arising from the agreement with France,” the activist said.
Mr. Moya was referring to the formal support given by Madrid to the draft European Immigration Pact. The pact was presented by France and approved July 7 in Cannes by the interior ministers of the 27 member countries of the European Union, in hopes that the European Council will formally approve it in October.
The original text of the pact, proposed by France, was considerably tougher than that which was finally approved, and Spain’s participation had a great deal to do with toning it down.
Spanish Interior Minister Josè Antonio Rubalcaba stressed that Spain promoted amendments virtually throughout the text and “tried to make the pact reflect its vision of immigration.”
However, although the French proposal was softened, the final text takes a firm stance against foreigners arriving from outside the EU. It defines “illegal immigration” as the arrival of foreigners without the right entry papers and “guarantees” their repatriation to their countries of origin or transit. It also calls on EU member states to cooperate with each other to expel undocumented foreigners, voluntarily or by force.
The pact also points out that the decisions of any one country “may have repercussions for its partners,” so it is essential that each EU member state take into account the interests of its partners when defining and implementing its immigration, integration and asylum policies—a clear call for strict control of their common borders.
As well as strengthening Frontex, the EU agency for external border security, the pact recommends that biometric visas be used at Europe’s borders starting in 2012. In other words, every person entering or leaving the EU would be documented by means of a digital photograph and inkless electronic fingerprints.
With regard to family reunification, the pact recommends that before states authorize the entry of resident immigrants’ relatives, they should assess their own capacity to absorb them. Under the existing rules, there are no barriers to family reunification.
Deputy Prime Minister Marìa Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the pact is positive and “guarantees the rights of immigrants,” including illegal entrants.
She said Spain’s legislation on immigration is more generous than the draft pact and will not be changed, because the draft agreed in Cannes “is not applicable to Spain.”
With respect to the tragedy, the Spanish government’s delegate in Andalusia, the region to which Almerìa belongs, said he is considering granting legal status to the surviving immigrants, “exceptionally and for humanitarian reasons.”
