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ÁLVARO FRÍAS
Wednesday, 8 February 2017, 17:20
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For a desperate person who crosses the sea from Morocco in search of a better life, there is only the hope that the movement of the waves will stop on the other side of the Mediterranean. This is like Russian roulette, in which the bullets are the small rubber boats and the barrel of the revolver turns with the marine currents. They take this risk with about 50 other people, crammed together as they await the consolation of solid ground. Their relief is almost audible above the engine of the Maritime Rescue boat. Its occupants are the first to extend a hand to the immigrants who risk their lives at sea. They are the first link in the chain of urgent attention which these people receive in Spain, and as soon as they reach port Cruz Roja volunteers and lawyers from the Immigrant Representation Department take over.
Maritime rescue is a difficult job and a busy one, because these boats are constantly being spotted close to the Malaga coast. In the first six days of January alone, 178 immigrants arrived in Malaga on board four small boats, when in the whole of 2014 the total only amounted to 89. This is a change which began last year, in 2016, when 750 people were rescued, an unprecedented figure in the past decade.
Alejandro Rubio has been working in Maritime Rescue for 25 years and he knows well how the situation has been changing.
"At first all the boats were made of wood and about 17 North Africans would travel in them, hoping we wouldn't spot them so they could reach the shore. Now they are rubber boats which are designed to take eight people at most. More than 50 travel in them, nearly all from the sub-Sahara."
Ayoui grew up watching films on television which frequently showed what life in Europe was like. He spent his childhood in the company of his best friend, whose family is better off than his own, and who has now gone to live and study in Paris. Brother, you just have to see this, the young man from Ivory Coast told him after he arrived in the French capital.
Ayouis dream is to meet up with his best friend again, to get away from the misery in which he lives in his own country, and to be able to study. Thats why he risked his life at sea, crowded on board a small boat.
Protected by this fictitious name, Ayoui shares his story together with Pompidou (the name another young man has decided to use as a pseudonym). They were both in the last boat to have arrived in Malaga. It was the end of a long journey which will forever remain etched in their memories and also in their skin, after the burns they suffered when petrol from the boats motor came into contact with the salt water.
Pompidou cant remember anything about the journey. Just after leaving Morocco he lost consciousness from hypothermia. What he does remember, though, is his family. The 14 brothers and sisters who lived in a small house in the capital of his country Yaundé, where he used to sell ballpoint pens every day to earn some money and buy food.
With the small amount he managed to save, he embarked upon his dream of going to Europe. His long journey through African countries began nearly two years ago, but some of the hardest moments were in Morocco. There, he had to beg in order to eat.
Ayouis trip to Morocco was quicker. His friend, who had been in Paris for a while, urged him to join him. He paid his air fare to the North African country and said that he would send the 1,000 euros he would need to get on the boat and try to reach Spain. However, months passed before he was able to find a way to do that. I used to sweep the entrances of houses and run errands so they would give me something to eat. I have been beaten up so badly I didnt think I would be able to go on, he explains.
The two companions insist that they have never lost hope. They say that is what has guided them in their journey and what has kept them alive at every moment of their ordeal. I was only afraid I would have to go back, not of dying in the boat, says Ayoui.
Now, they have fulfilled part of their dream. Ayoui wants to meet up with his friend again. Its difficult, because on the boat I lost everything I had. Clothes, mobile phone... But his face lights up with a huge smile when he thinks of the fact that now, at last, he will be able to study IT and electronics.
Since he was young, Pompidou has dreamed of owning his own mechanical workshop. Maybe now Ill be able to earn the money to do that one day. Somewhere close to home, so I can see my family again, he says.
Alejandro works on the Salvamar Alnitak, the Maritime Rescue boat which is based in Malaga port. He was a captain in the merchant navy and salt water runs through his veins in conjunction with the adrenaline from every rescue. Alejandro explains that they are on duty 24 hours a day, waiting for a phone call which makes them swing into action. They then go out to look for the boat and, once they have located it, try to save its occupants.
That is the most dangerous moment. "They have been lost at sea for hours so they are pleased to see us. They stand up, and when we approach them they try to board our boat straight away," says Alejandro. The rescuers try to calm everyone down so that, when they are able to clamber on board, there is no danger.
Then it is time to return to port, and the immigrants' joy at being rescued begins to mingle with other thoughts. "They are happy because they have survived, but sad because of the misery that led them to risk their lives at sea," says Alejandro.
When they arrive in the city a Cruz Roja first aid post has always been set up. Laura Corral is one of the volunteers. She has spent just over a year helping people who have risked their lives in a small boat, treating the minor injuries they have sustained, such as small burns or bruises, and giving them assistance kits. If their injuries are more serious, they are taken to a hospital.
Laura says the gratitude of these people makes her feel emotional: "It is very satisfying to give them a hand, even though deep down you know you haven't solved their problems."
Elena Crespo feels the same. She is one of the team of lawyers from the Immigrant Representation Department who, every time one of these boats arrives in Malaga, set off to try to help the people on board in the best way they know: ensuring that their rights are respected.
"It is a privilege and a great responsibility to attend to these people from the first moment. You have to welcome them in the way they deserve, because they have been through a great deal," she says.
Elena knows that the vast majority of the immigrants she helps will spend some time in the Foreigners Internment Centres. "After all they have been through, they end up there... things should be organised differently," she says.
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