African migrants risking it all for a place in Europe

World
Europe

02:40

Spain's historic southern port of Cadiz has seen a lot of activity with African migrants this year, as Spain has become a top destination for their entry into Europe after other countries like Italy restricted their flow.

In Cadiz city, we met a young man from a West African country who was staying at a migrant transit center run by Roman Catholic Church charities. The migrants arrive at the center, where they will stay a maximum of three months, often far less, after being checked in by Spanish health and police authorities.

There are 42 beds in the center. The young man we met, who asked to be called "Momoudou Dion" for this report, is unlike others at the center. He said he fled his country with his girlfriend, who is pregnant, against the wishes of her father.

"I left my country because my life was in danger so I don't want them to know where I am," he said.

"I arrived in Spain on September 5. We spent the first night in the ship after the Spanish Coast Guard caught us. The next day, a bus came to take us. They asked for our names, made us sign some papers, and after they left, we spent that night in Civil Guard facilities. Then on Saturday (September 8), they took us to this place (the Cadiz migrant center)," he said in French.

Momoudou Dion (L) points at the route he took to Europe on a map, September 17, 2018. /CGTN Photo

Momoudou said he and his girlfriend, who was at a migrant center further south, near Gibraltar, spent five months traveling overland in Africa, through Mauritania and Western Sahara, until they reached Morocco.

They finally departed in a small boat from Tangier to cross the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain and their vessel was intercepted by Spanish authorities.

"The first thing I did after arriving to Spain was to call my Mom. She was really happy that I made it here and she asked me what I wanted to do next. I told her I loved France and I wanted to go there, so she started to get in touch with relatives. She has a nephew there. He will accommodate us," Momoudou said.

"We will ask for refuge there. Life will be easier for us there, and that's what motivates me to go there," he said. "Everything I will do will be in order to have a decent life next to my pregnant girlfriend."

Told that there's a sharp debate in the European Union now about immigration, and that various countries, such as Italy, have moved to reduce new arrivals, Momoudou said, "I think they should accept migrants in Europe. They don't realize what we suffer in our countries with police abuse, our politicians making false promises all the time."

People attend a demonstration ahead of the EU summit in Salzburg, Austria. The banner reads "Cause of death: EU external border," September 19, 2018. /VCG Photo

He's willing to take any job in France and said he's not deterred by anti-immigrant sentiments.

"In the beginning people will maybe not accept it but little by little, after a few weeks, they will accept it and it will be easier to find a place to stay and a job. I will take care of that," he told us.

NGOs and officials say many, if not most, sub-Saharan African migrants who reach Spain want to go north to France or Belgium, where they may already have French-speaking relatives or friends, or to other European countries with available jobs.

Momoudou said he and his girlfriend were leaving for Paris soon after the interview.

NGOs and officials also say Spain has facilitated the flow of migrants to northern Spain, getting them closer to the French border. In Momoudou's case, the charity migrant center would pay for his bus ticket.

(Cover photo: Migrants, who were rescued from a dinghy in the Mediterranean Sea, rest inside a tent of Spanish Red Cross after their arrival on September 15, 2018. /VCG Photo)