All posts tagged: Atlantic Ocean

Pope casts flowers in sea in tribute to drowned migrants during Canary Islands visit

Pope casts flowers in sea in tribute to drowned migrants during Canary Islands visit

Published by Sam Flores

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday condemned “indifference” towards migrants during a visit to Spain’s Canary Islands that symbolised the perils of deadly irregular routes to Europe. The pontiff cast a bouquet of flowers into the sea in tribute to the thousands who have died trying to reach the Atlantic archipelago, on day six of a trip to Spain that has repeatedly highlighted the plight of migrants. Leo visited the port of Arguineguin on Gran Canaria island, where he met migrants and those who help them before blessing a cross made from the wood of migrant boats. “Even today, monsters lurk in these seas: mafias that profit from despair, traffickers who enslave women and children, and those whose indifference allows the poor to be swallowed up by exploitation or forgetfulness,” Leo told a ceremony at the port. Migrants face a dangerous Atlantic crossing to reach the Canary Islands. © AFP (Stringer) Nearly 1,200 people died or went missing on the route from Africa to the Canary Islands last year, according to the International Organization for Migration, …

Ghosts of the Atlantic: In Senegal, a bid to identify missing migrants – Revisited

Ghosts of the Atlantic: In Senegal, a bid to identify missing migrants – Revisited

Published by Sam Flores

Twenty years after the 2006 migration crisis, the Atlantic route between Senegal and the Canary Islands remains one of the most dangerous for migrants. In 2024, more than 10,000 people died or went missing there. With most victims dying anonymously, families and associations are trying to give them a name. FRANCE 24’s Sarah Sakho and Simon Martin report. During the 2006 migration crisis, hundreds of canoe-shaped small boats attempted to cross the Atlantic from the Senegalese coast to the Canary Islands. Their slogan was “Barça ou barsaax” – “Barcelona or death”. Those words became reality for thousands of people whose lives were lost, swallowed up in the waves of the exodus. Twenty years later, the crisis has become even worse. 2024 saw a record high number of deaths on the Atlantic route: more than 10,000 dead or missing, even more than in 2006. Watch moreSenegalese migrants attempt dangerous crossing to Spain’s Canary Islands For the majority of victims, their tragedy is anonymous. Due to a lack of resources and any real political will, the shipwrecked are …