Immigrant minors welcomed in Andalusia: “I will not make the crossing again; those of us who arrive are lucky”

Bubakar watched from his house as the boats left Gunjur beach. When he was 16, one night, he jumped out of the window without his family knowing, queued up and snuck into the canoe. “I tried three times. Two told me I hadn’t paid, the third and my friends said: Police, police!” “They started running and we kept going,” he says. From that beach in Gambia, he explains that he spent eight days at sea to reach Gran Canaria. That was eight months ago. He is now in the Cortes de la Frontera, in a centre supervised by the Junta de Andalucía. There, he is trying to build a future as a truck driver for which he risked his life. The socio-professional integration centre in this small town in the Serranía de Ronda (Málaga) houses 25 minors. It is an old residence, part of the Engloba network. Here, the Department of Social Inclusion has a system to ensure that these minors end up being part of society. “It’s a race against time,” explains Ramón Rodríguez, head of mediation for minors placed in Andalusia, who adds that the first thing to do when they are received is to guarantee their fundamental rights, contact their family to have their basic information and know their background. has been. In addition, efforts are being made with consulates to normalize their situation in Spain. Few are those who fail to obtain papers after having passed through the guardianship of the Andalusian Administration. Currently, the Andalusian system for the protection of minors has 1,451 immigrant minors. Of these, 1,204 are boys and 247 are girls. More particular cases. In specific places, such as the one in Cortes de la Frontera that ABC visited this week, there are 645 places that are very stressed. The capacity is at 115%. They are above their capacity and have not yet received references, at least ten more people agreed from Ceuta, plus the minors who enter as adults in the groups arriving from the Canary Islands. Andalusia has already received 515 adolescents in this way. Related news Standard No Andalusia accuses the government of “destroying” the centers for immigrant minors. Report JJ Madueño Yes Young Moroccans in Ceuta Young Moroccans in Ceuta: “The president says there is work” JJ MadueñoSanou arrived in one of these groups. This teenager left Mali by plane for Morocco, once there he embarked for the Canary Islands paying 500 euros for a ticket to a human trafficker. I was 15 years old. He was lost at sea for several days in a pirogue full of people, until they were rescued by Salvamento Marítimo to take them to a port in the Canary Islands. From there he was transferred to Torremolinos, where he was registered as a minor, and from there to Cortes de la Frontera, where he has lived for two years and is trying to make the most of it. “It is very difficult and you have to fight alone”, adds this minor, who already speaks Spanish. Spanish classes are one of the most important aspects of these centers, because if they don’t master it, it is very difficult to integrate and find work. At 17, Sanou is studying to be a nursing assistant, while working as a mechanic in the afternoons in Ronda. He wants to become a laboratory technician and his most immediate goal is to go see his mother when he turns 18, in 2025. “I talk to her every day. I wouldn’t do the crossing again. Many die. Those of us who arrived were lucky,” adds Sanou, who shares a table with Achraf, a 17-year-old Moroccan who jumped off the coast of Al Hoceima on a boat. “I paid 1,000 euros to the traffickers. I spent three full days at sea until I reached a beach in Malaga,” recalls the Moroccan. They both talk to their mother every day. They do not lose contact, even if they will spend at least three years without being able to go see her. “Being rooted, even from a distance, is very important. We talk to their mothers to help them focus and to help us. Moments like mourning, when a brother, father or grandmother dies, are very difficult. “They see themselves as helpless, but being in contact with their family helps them a lot to fight for a future,” says Pilar Pérez, a social educator at the center, who explains that there are three children who have run away and that they are complicated cases, because the family roots are broken and there is no connection with their mother. Life at the center The minors in care have classes, activities and are responsible for maintaining everything, from their clothes to their personal hygiene, including the garden or the dining room. room. F. SilvaOnce the soul and mind are serene, it is time to train these young people to function in a society that considers them as foreigners and whose codes they do not master. At this stage, training is important to begin to forge a profession, from sports instructor to technician to apply phytosanitary products in the field. The variety is great and also depends on the environment in which the center is located. “We look for training courses, training actions or internships in companies, so that they have professional experience,” says Ramón Rodríguez, who explains that these centers are located in small municipalities, usually in the mountains, to promote integration because they are smaller societies. and comfortable. The grandmothers of Cortés, for example, treat the children with special affection, opening the doors of the city to them. Learning begins with the most basic, from hygiene issues such as brushing teeth to cleaning tasks or painting classes or urban ecological painting. garden where they collaborate. “They have to be completely independent when they leave here. At 18, they won’t have anyone left. They are going to be alone and have to know how to move around,” says Pilar Pérez, who adds that they have to fight many beliefs and superstitions, such as that brushing their teeth exhausts them or that they have to throw water in the hallway to scare away evil spirits. These homeless young people learn about social aspects or coexistence. “They are our future neighbors and they should know how our society works,” says Pérez, who explains that values ​​such as respect for LGTBI people or gender violence are instilled in them. But nothing works without their independence at 18. And for that, work is essential. “The practices make them change. They are much better off when they go to a company. They are already doing something and can show their family that they have a job. “It makes them feel better,” says Pérez, who is pleased with the praise given to Mohamed at the Las Camaretas Hotel. Related news standard Yes “We sneaked in and survived” Eight hours of swimming to Ceuta amid the screams of those drowning JJ Madueño Standard No Andalusia explodes and warns the government that it will no longer accept unfunded immigrant minors Soraya Fernández “I “I’m going to propose to the owner to put him on the team,” says Verónica Suárez, the manager of this young man, who will soon be 18 and will have to live his adult life. Mohamed is one of the 2,000 minors who crossed the fence of Ceuta during the crisis of May 2021. He was housed in the Tarajal warehouses, where many slept on the ground or on industrial shelves. Then he went to the Hope Center and from there he was transferred to Andalusia, as is the case today for the minors of the last crisis that collapsed Ceuta with hundreds of daily attempts to access it. Mohamed has trained and now works as a waiter in the city. “There are children who work in many places. There are gardeners, in the hotel industry or bakers. There are even those who have found a partner and bought a house,” Pilar Pérez recalls. And all that it costs to build a life is something they did not count on. Many were deceived into thinking they were going to the land of opportunities, but upon arriving they discovered that they had to fight and study to be able to work. “They bear the responsibility of having to work to feed their family. They come with a different idea of ​​what Spain is. This generates frustration.” Here they know that they have to make an effort if they want to continue, because they are alone and also because they have to work for their family,” adds Ramón Rodríguez. “Future neighbors” At the center, they learn Spanish, they go to high school, they train to practice a profession and learn the values ​​to be in the society that surrounds them. F. SilvaOne of the most aware is Abdel Hakim, who is about to leave the center. He left Morocco almost three years ago in the back of a truck in Tangier and went up to Madrid. “My mother didn’t know. “I could have died,” says this young man, while he attends a workshop where he is taught how to make recipes and the price of ingredients. About to turn 18, he knows that he must look for work and study so that everything goes well. the sacrifice he has made is worth it. “You have to take advantage of the time. “I didn’t have to risked my life,” says this Moroccan who, like the rest of his companions, insists that he would not risk his life again to enter Spain. They are the ones who must bravely face the future as they did one day by throwing themselves into the sea. Yussef is one of those who will soon be 18. He boards a boat heading for the coast of Malaga, but the journey becomes complicated. They called the Civil Guard and were rescued on the high seas. He came in the footsteps of his brothers. “He lives on the street. “He leads a bad life,” he explains. He is one of those who did not manage to get out of it after moving into a sheltered apartment, but an example so that his younger brother does not make the same mistakes and becomes the cook he dreams of.

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