It could be a record over a month.
More than 8,000 migrants disembarked in November in the Canaries, a Spanish archipelago off the northwestern coast of Africa, according to figures provided Thursday by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.
The 8,157 arrivals recorded in November bring to nearly 20,000 the number of migrants who have reached the archipelago since the start of the year, often after a perilous voyage in the Atlantic Ocean on makeshift boats.
This figure is ten times higher than the total for 2019 (with 1993 arrivals throughout the year), the consequence being that temporary accommodation facilities and places are overwhelmed by this influx.
Emergency plan
The situation is reminiscent of the migration crisis of 2006, when 30,000 migrants had landed in the archipelago, but at the time arrivals were not recorded month by month, according to a spokesperson for the ministry of 'Interior.
The Spanish government has launched an emergency plan to create 7,000 temporary accommodation places in the Canaries with 84 million euros in European funds, in addition to accommodating migrants in hotels and tourist complexes that have remained empty due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country has also started diplomatic negotiations with several African countries to prevent as much as possible the departure of migrants to the Canaries.
