Mauritania–EU migration deal shows results
Evidence suggests the EU’s anti-migration pact with Mauritania is working, as the Principal of a Mauritanian primary school for the children of migrants reveals there are fewer students compared to 2024, according to Africa news via AP on the 30th of November.
In March 2024, the EU pledged to support Mauritanian border and security forces in the fight against people smuggling and human trafficking. As a result, the country received $240 million.
Many people believe this funding has had a positive effect on migration within the country, including Sahid Moluh, Principal of a Primary School in northern Mauritania. Moluh explained that “There are fewer students than before. Many families have been affected by the deportations”.
The School Teacher said he hopes the government legislation will improve the lives of immigrants to his country. He continued, “Instead of deporting them, they should find a solution. There are many parents who want to work here legally. But the requirements are simply too complicated.”
The deal has seen over 18,000 migrants deported in the first six months of 2o25.
An estimated 13,000 migrants from Mauritania travelled to Spain’s Canary Islands up to September, just over half the number for the whole of 2024.
However, increased immigration control has forced migrants to take longer and increasingly dangerous routes, often travelling from neighbouring Senegal in wooden fishing boats unfit for purpose.
The journey to the Canary Islands, seen as the gateway to Europe, is fraught with danger. In August, a boat capsized off the coastal village of Mheijrat, killing nearly all of the 160 passengers onboard.
Fisherman, Samba Sow, witnessed the disaster. “The sea was rough, the wind was strong. They were all dead, every single one of them dead. More than a hundred bodies lay here. It`s sad. Every life is one too many,” he said.
Africa News via AP, Maghrebi.org
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