海角大神

Far from the lush fields of banana trees in the north of Tenerife 鈥� a Spanish overseas territory off the coast of northwest Africa 鈥� is La Tejita, a sandy beach in the south of the island, where cacti protrude from the hillsides and imposing rock formations loom over sandy beaches, gray from the volcanic rock of El Teide. It was on this beach one summer in 2007 that David Gonz谩lez Hernandez saw the boat come in.

鈥淭he boat docked and about 20 people starting walking in, others who were in better shape swam in,鈥� says Mr. Gonz谩lez. 鈥淢any were injured or practically dying of thirst.鈥�

For two hours, the shocked beachgoers gave water, clothing, and first aid to help those Africans who had arrived on the southern shores of this island off the northwestern coast of Africa, home to some 880,000 people. 鈥淚 had seen this sort of thing on TV but never thought it could happen here,鈥� says Gonz谩lez. 鈥淚t had a huge impact on me.鈥�

Before Greece or Hungary or Turkey, there were the Canary Islands. The images that stemmed from moments like that day in La Tejita 鈥� of holidaymakers in bikinis helping dozens of African men and women, thirsty and exhausted 鈥� shocked the world.

Now, images of equally disturbing proportions have come out of Greece, where an average of 2,000 people have arrived daily over the past several months primarily fleeing the war in Syria. In mid-March, Europe signed the EU-Turkey deal to relieve Greece of the migrant crisis, allowing those who arrive in Greece to be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.

Even though Turkey and Greece face different challenges than Spain did a decade ago, they will be looking to places like the Canary Islands 鈥� who have already successfully navigated their own migration crises 鈥� as the EU-Turkey deal goes forward. And while the current EU deal focuses on pushing migrants back home or to a third country, there are potential lessons to be learned from Spain鈥檚 efforts to keep migrants from leaving home in the first place.

The Western African route

The afternoon Gonz谩lez describes on La Tejita was not the first nor the last time the Canary Islands would deal with migrants seeking refuge on their shores. From 2006-08, more than 50,000 people from primarily sub-Saharan Africa took pateras, medium-sized fishing boats, in groups of 50 to 150 people to the islands in hopes of reaching Europe and a better life.

The Canary Islands and Spain were wholly unprepared for the influx of migrants, says Vicente Manuel Zapata Hern谩ndez, a professor of human geography at the Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife. 鈥淭his level of immigration to the Canary Islands was unprecedented in the region at the time and far exceeded our capacity in terms of our available material and human resources,鈥� he says.

Social worker Carlos V谩zquez Alay贸n, who worked at the Fundaci贸n Proyecto Don Bosco for youth migrants in 2007, remembers the island鈥檚 lack of preparedness. 鈥淐enters meant for a capacity of 60 were forced to house 130 people,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he migrants burned mattresses in protest.鈥�

But instead of financing a 鈥減ush back鈥� scheme 鈥� similar to what the EU-Turkey deal promotes 鈥� Spain approached its migrant crisis from the other end.

In 2007, the Spanish government signed a series of bilateral agreements with Senegal, Mauritania, and other transit countries to seal off the Western African route 鈥� a sea channel from northwestern Africa to the Canary Islands 鈥� as well as routes going between Ceuta and Melilla and the Spanish peninsula. It also invested heavily in maritime patrols and radar systems in those countries to detect and prevent boats from leaving home. Development aid, trade deals, and youth employment programs for the source African countries completed the package.

'Pulling back'

The result? Word slowly spread across northwest Africa about the difficulties of leaving the region and soon, fewer people were using the well-worn route to reach Europe. In 2009, the number of illegal detections on the Western African route had been reduced to 2,250, and by 2010, those numbers had dropped to 200.

鈥淭he Spanish government thought about their relationship with these countries and did things relatively quietly,鈥� says Elizabeth Collett, the director of Migration Policy Institute Europe in Brussels. 鈥淭he EU-Turkey deal is all about messaging 鈥� 鈥榳hat message do we want to send.鈥� 鈥�

Spain鈥檚 鈥減ull back鈥� methods have garnered further appeal as the EU-Turkey deal faces criticism for its possible violation of human rights 鈥� by pushing refugees back to a third country, Turkey, and potentially denying their right to asylum and aid. In 2012, Italy faced similar criticism when the European court of human rights ruled that its methods of intercepting migrants in the Mediterranean and returning them to Libya in 2009 had violated international human rights.

Still, Ms. Collett says that neither the EU-Turkey deal nor Spain鈥檚 鈥減ull back鈥� methods are a perfect fix. While the EU-Turkey deal prevents people from claiming asylum, the 鈥減ull-back鈥� method does as well, by preventing those in a dangerous situation from leaving home.

鈥淎re you appeasing countries but limiting human rights?鈥� she asks. 鈥淭his type of plan doesn鈥檛 allow people who are truly in need of fleeing their home country to claim asylum.鈥�

Alert for new migration

While Spain鈥檚 focus on prevention has been largely successful in recent years, it is beginning to come to terms with the herculean task of sealing off a sea route. According to EU border agency Frontex, illegal detections on the once sealed-off Western African route tripled in 2014 and 2015. The Canary Islands regional government says it is already looking at preventive measures in order to avoid a crisis similar to the one a decade ago. 聽

鈥淭his situation is going to get worse following the agreement between the European Union and Turkey,鈥� says Carmen Acosta, director-general of Social Policies and Immigration within the Canary Islands鈥� regional government. 鈥淏ut we will not stand still鈥�. We are preparing a host of protocols to be prepared in case of new arrivals, to be able to accommodate these people with dignity.鈥�

And while the Canary Islands are better prepared in terms of material resources and social awareness than they were in 2006, they will be hoping to avoid their past mistakes. 鈥淚f we have to deal with this again, we鈥檒l be ready,鈥� says Mr. V谩zquez, the social worker. 鈥淏ut we鈥檒l do things differently.鈥�

As Europe looks to the EU-Turkey deal to help relieve Greece of the strain of its migrant crisis, it will be examining whether such 鈥減ush-back鈥� methods are effective. And while Spain鈥檚 methods of offering incentives to prevent migrants from leaving home in the first place have proven beneficial, there is still no way to stop people from fleeing war, persecution, or intense poverty in search of a better life in Europe.

"People will still try to come, you can鈥檛 stop people from wanting that,鈥� says 19-year-old Gibril Njia, who took the Western Africa route to Tenerife himself a few years ago, leaving his home in The Gambia. 鈥淚f you want something, you have to fight for it.鈥�