DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — As dawn broke off the coast of Senegal, Navy Commander Assane Seye scanned the horizon.
He is captain of the Niani, one of three new patrol vessels tasked with patrolling the waters off the West African nation in search of a rapidly growing number of vulnerable boats carrying migrants on one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.
Dozens of people board the wooden fishing vessels known as pirogues and risk their lives on a journey to Spain’s Canary Islands, which have become the favorite landing point for West African migrants dreaming of a better life in Europe.
The Associated Press had rare access to one of the Navy’s night patrols.
At a glance, Seye and his colleagues can see whether a boat is out fishing or migrating. The number of people crammed on board is their clue.
“Since January 1, 2024, the Navy has rescued 4,780 people,” he said. That is an increase from 2023.
Oumar Ndiaye, a lieutenant, said they intercepted a wooden boat with more than 200 people on board a month ago.
“There were a large number of people on this pirogue in very difficult conditions who had already spent two or three days at sea,” he said. Intercepting such boats is a humanitarian mission, he added.
Seye said the Navy is obligated to get the migrants to safety whether they call for help or not.
“All it takes is a change in the weather, or one wrong move by the captain, for the proa to capsize and endanger people,” he said.
The patrol teams take the migrants on board and take them to shore. Once there, they are free to walk away – and maybe try again. But if they come from another country, they are repatriated.
Until recently, the Mediterranean Sea was the main migrant route from West Africa to Europe. But the European Union has sent money to Libya and Tunisia, popular departure points in North Africa, with the aim of curbing migration from there.
Now the route via the Canary Islands is easily accessible. According to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, the number of ‘irregular’ migrants landing in Spain in June was almost double that of the same period in 2023. Spain recorded almost 25,000 such arrivals in the first half of 2024.
Earlier this year, the EU signed a €210 million deal with Mauritania, which borders Senegal, to stop smugglers from launching boats to Spain.
Both the Mediterranean route and the one towards the Canary Islands can be fatal.
While there is no accurate death toll due to the lack of information on departures from West Africa, Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders estimates that the number of victims on the Canary Islands route alone this year is in the thousands.
Some troubled boats have drifted across the Atlantic Ocean, with the bodies inside posing a mystery to those who find them.
Migration is a controversial topic in Senegal. New President Barrious Diomaye Faye campaigned on promises of reforms to improve the living standards of ordinary Senegalese, in an effort to keep them at home.
These proposed reforms include renegotiating fishing licenses for foreigners – often accused of displacing local fishermen – and securing a greater share of Senegal’s natural resources for locals.
More than 60% of the Senegalese population is under the age of 25 and 90% work in informal jobs. They have watched for years as money from natural resources went abroad.
Senegal went to the polls on Sunday for parliamentary elections called in September after the president dissolved the opposition-led parliament. Winning a majority in parliament would allow him to implement the promised reforms.
But some young people in Senegal are still undeterred by the risks of traveling to Europe. They say the economic situation in Senegal leaves them no choice.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
