Crossing the Atlantic Ocean to look elsewhere – a humanitarian crisis on the Canary Islands 2020-2021

Sammanfattning: During 2020 and 2021, a migration crisis has been developing on the Canary Islands in Spain. Large numbers of African migrants have made the dangerous journey from West Africa to the Canary Islands, risking their lives on the Atlantic Sea. Humanitarian aid organizations, like the Spanish Red Cross, are working intensively to handle the humanitarian needs of the migrants on land and on sea. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze why the migration crisis on the Canary Islands occurs. The migrants originate from different African countries with different reasons why they choose to migrate. In some countries, there are ongoing wars and conflicts, like in Mali. In other countries, people migrate because of poverty, climate change and displacement to seek a better life. This thesis will answer why Senegalese people choose to migrate on this dangerous route on the Atlantic Sea. The study is based on interviews with three Senegalese migrants and two representatives of humanitarian aid organizations. The analysis has been made from different migration theories. It shows that an important reason why the Senegalese migrants choose to migrate is that it is no longer possible to make a living by fishing and provide for their families. This works as an important push factor to migrate. Another push factor is the lack of trust in the Senegalese government. An important pull factor are the success stories from migrants who have made the journey through the Canary Islands. According to the aspiration and capabilities theory, the aspirations to migrate increase when a country goes from being very poor to richer. This is because the knowledge about the surrounding world and the opportunities increase. The study shows that migrants are well aware of the risks when crossing the Atlantic Sea, but they choose the route because there are almost no legal ways for them to migrate.