Since 2005, the beginning of summer corresponds to the peak of departures of candidates for emigration. Each time, the dramas follow one another, but there is no solution on the horizon for these young people who dream of an Eldorado after a perilous crossing.

It was in 2005 that the expression “Barça-Barsakh” became the anthem of desperate young people in search of a better place. It was in 2005 that thousands of young people stormed the traditional fishing sites, places of embarkation, to reach the “gate of paradise”: the Canary Islands. That year, hundreds of young candidates for irregular emigration managed to slip through the cracks of the Spanish and then European coast guards, with the birth of Frontex. Others were turned back with the agreement of the Senegalese authorities. But, hundreds of them were swallowed up in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Since 2005, it’s the same refrain at this time of year: the summers gather on the routes of emigration. In June and July, the young people dive back to go on an adventure. And the summers are deadly, as the boats rarely arrive at their destination. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 126 migrants died or disappeared during the crossing to the Canary Islands in the first half of 2023. While Caminando Fronteras puts forward the figure of 778 dead or missing, according to the infomigrants site. net.