The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, emphasized this Wednesday that the political class of the archipelago has "been up to the task" in the face of the migration crisis that is affecting the island of El Hierro. In his view, the "single Canary voice" before the central Government made it possible to achieve yesterday "concrete results" in the form of measures for the islands.
He said this during the session of the autonomous Parliament, in response to a question from Raúl Armas (AHI), in which he detailed the package of actions agreed with the State. Among them are the strengthening of healthcare services and police staffing, as well as support close to one million euros aimed at the economic sectors hit hardest in La Restinga.
Raúl Armas, who asked Clavijo for an initial assessment of the agreement with the central Executive, focused on the saturation that public healthcare in El Hierro is experiencing. He described how the "hospital ward is occupied by migrants, and the auditorium of the Hospital on the island has turned into a care facility" due to the increase in arrivals. "The staff is exhausted, doing a job that should be done at the pier, in a field hospital," Armas explained, stressing that the personnel of Cruz Roja, Protección Civil, Salvamento and the security forces "are at their limits."
Clavijo thanked the spokespersons of the various political formations for the "unity" shown in the days prior to the extraordinary Interministerial Commission on Immigration held on Tuesday. He reproached Vox for distancing itself from that "single voice" in the Canary Islands by considering that "the tone had to be raised more" in this matter.
The president recalled that "that eight-point agreement was fully accepted by the General Administration of the State." He admitted that he would have liked the replies to have arrived sooner, but he reiterated that from the Canary Islands "we have set an example in such a complicated matter of political unity, and we all have to feel proud of that broad-mindedness of all political groups," insisting that the "Canary political class has been up to the task."
On the other hand, PP deputy Juan Manuel García Casañas has expressed his bewilderment at the absence, to date, of a Frontex deployment and at why the Armed Forces have not been made available to the archipelago to deal with the upturn in migration. "We do not understand why a forceful diplomatic policy is not being carried out with those countries that allow these people to get on boats and risk their lives at sea," he has stressed.
In his remarks, he has underscored the shortcomings in human and material resources: "We are being told about more resources, of course yes, in the short term. The residents of El Hierro need resources at the dock, doctors, nurses, but, in the long term, where are we going to take them from? From the Doctor Negrín Hospital, from the La Candelaria Hospital, from the University Hospital."
Frontex deployment and negotiations with sending countries
Clavijo has pointed out that the Ministry of the Interior this Tuesday shared with the Canary Islands Government the need to activate Frontex in the main countries of origin, especially Senegal and Gambia, from where most of the boats originate. "The minister was telling us about the amendment of a European regulation on the matter, as well as the diplomatic efforts, in Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the European Union, to move forward on cooperation and development agreements."
The president has added that this Tuesday the ambassador of Senegal in Spain was "committing to" controlling the situation for the Canary Islands. However, he has pointed out that in the country a sports competition is currently being held that requires mobilizing personnel, so the coasts "are being watched less."
"There is a commitment from the Senegalese Government, and in the case of Gambia, the next November 16 elections begin, and they have a significant political instability. Until the elections are resolved, it will be difficult to be able to hold negotiations with the Government of Gambia for the control of departures," he has indicated.
CC deputy David Toledo has recalled that, despite the agreements reached this Tuesday with the central executive, "it is not acceptable that, in a state governed by law, the Canary Islands has had to keep insisting and insisting until the State took notice and got down to work" given the situation El Hierro is experiencing. He has denounced that "they have arrived, specifically, five letters later, 66 boats later, 68 deaths later and 6,665 migrant people later."
A structural phenomenon and the impact on La Restinga
Clavijo has taken on Toledo’s approach and has reiterated that migration is a “structural phenomenon” that will continue to be present due to the geographical location of the Canary Islands. He has emphasized that “the response and the structure we have to have on the islands in matters of immigration, which is the exclusive responsibility of the State and of protecting our borders, has to be stable and structural, and that requires concrete measures.”
The head of the autonomous executive branch has also defended specific actions for El Hierro, with special attention to La Restinga, whose pier is already suffering a notable economic and social impact due to the migratory upturn. He has recalled that “of the 11 dive centers that there were, 4 remain. The economic depression in La Restinga has a lot to do with this situation.”
He has warned that “we are aware that this route will have more or fewer activations with more or less intensity over time, and that has to be met with a structural response from the State,” underlining the need for the phenomenon “not to overload public services, not to strain the population, and to be able to offer a human and dignified response” to those who arrive at the Canary coasts.
Finally, he has insisted that “and of course, the diversions from the island of Hierro have to be activated. And for that, the National Police Corps has to have sufficient resources and means” to guarantee transfers and the management of the migratory flow.