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A journey told through the silent remains of migrant boats

Thousands of people arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands every year, and several hundred perish along the way. From January to August, according to official figures, over 11,000 migrants arrived in the archipelago. The flimsy boats they use, which often end up abandoned on the beaches, are testimony to the precariousness with which they face the sea. The author of these images has been carrying out this work since 2020 in different parts of the islands

María Tomás-Rodríguez

Tenerife (Spain's Canary Islands) - Sep 15, 2023 - 16:31CEST

From January to July 2023 and according to data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, a total of 8,500 migrants reached the coasts of the Canary Islands. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), between January and June of this year, 177 migrants died or disappeared on the Canary Route, which leads from West Africa to the Spanish archipelago. The image shows a Senegalese migrant boat, popularly called a 'cayuco', on the beach of Las Galletas, in Tenerife, in December 2020. The boat made landfall with 67 occupants, 28 of them minors. The Gambian and Senegalese cayucos have flat bottoms, are made of wood and stand out for their colorful hulls. They can measure up to 25 meters in length and carry about 200 people.MARÍA TOMÁS-RODRÍGUEZ

Mauritanian 'cayuco' on the beach of La Tejita, Tenerife on January 1, 2021. There were 40 people in this precarious boat, all of whom were assisted by a team of Red Cross volunteers. Arrivals on beaches are particularly dangerous because of the risk of injury during disembarkation and the risk of drowning just a few meters from the shore. Mauritanian canoes are usually made of fiberglass and are smaller than Senegalese canoes. They are usually painted white on the outside and light blue on the inside. Although these boats depart from Mauritanian ports, most of their passengers come from Mali, Senegal and Gambia.MARÍA TOMÁS-RODRÍGUEZ

The 'patera' boats depart from Morocco and Western Sahara, make shorter journeys and their destination is usually the islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. They can carry between 50 and 60 people and are painted blue, green, black or white. The 'cayuco' canoes leave from Mauritania, Gambia or Senegal, are larger than the pateras and usually reach the islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife or El Hierro. In this image, taken in March 2021, several boats are seen in the Arinaga deposit, on the island of Gran Canaria. MARÍA TOMÁS-RODRÍGUEZ

Photograph taken in March 2021, showing the remains of a sunken cayuco in the Port of Arguineguín, on the island of Gran Canaria. The cayucos are the safest vessels to face the Atlantic Ocean, as they are more resistant, but they also carry out the longest journeys. MARÍA TOMÁS-RODRÍGUEZ

Image taken in March 2021 at the Port of Arinaga, on the island of Gran Canaria. In 2021, hundreds of vessels arrived at this port. In 2022, they were moved by order of the Canary Islands Government to a site in the nearby industrial park for subsequent destruction by a waste management company. In Arinaga, eight cayucos and 16 pateras were preserved to create in the coming months a monument in memory of the people who lost their lives trying to reach Europe. MARÍA TOMÁS-RODRÍGUEZ

The rudders of the cayucos are made of iron and are manually operated by the skipper. To navigate at sea, they depend on GPS. If the GPS stops working, they use compasses or try to guide themselves by looking at the stars. It is not uncommon for small boats or cayucos to get lost during the crossing due to problems with the navigation tools and unfavorable weather conditions. The engines used are of low power (40 and 70 hp). In the picture, taken on July 14, 2021, in the port of Los Cristianos in Tenerife, the rudder and engine of a Senegalese cayuco can be seen. MARÍA TOMÁS-RODRÍGUEZ

The boats usually leave with little water and food. In some cases, the crossing takes longer than expected. In these cases food or water is often scarce and the priority is to feed and keep alive the skipper of the boat, followed by women and children. In the image, taken on March 27, 2022 at the Port of Los Cristianos in Tenerife, bags of cookies and rice are seen along with rainboots, pots and personal belongings left on the cayuco after the migrants disembarked.María Tomás-Rodríguez

Image taken on February 19, 2022 in Puerto de los Cristianos, Tenerife, showing the remains of objects and toiletries used during a crossing. Women are in a more vulnerable situation when it comes to personal hygiene, as in many African countries, menstruation is still a taboo subject that inspires rejection.MARÍA TOMÁS-RODRÍGUEZ

Cooking utensils on board mingled with clothes and personal belongings in a cayuco from Mauritania that arrived at the Port of Arguineguín, in Gran Canaria, in March 2021. One of the passengers on this boat was a two-year-old girl whose story caused a great deal of media attention: she was resuscitated on the dock by members of the Red Cross team after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest and finally died five days later. MARÍA TOMÁS-RODRÍGUEZ