Number boats having reached the shores Alicante province The total increased rapidly in 2023 776 people Almost twice as many migrants were rescued as the previous year, 410.
According to data provided to EFE Red Cross, The actions were carried out on 56 unsafe boats on which 735 male migrants and 41 female migrants were traveling, including 82 children (72 boys and 10 girls).
This part about minors is one of the most worrying; because the number has increased significantly since the statistics were kept in 2007, behind the abnormal 2019, when there were 131 underage children, ranked as the second historical value.
The 82 minors in 2023 are ahead of other years with the total number of migrants with fewer minors, such as 2020 (924 people) and 2021 (848): 77 and 69 respectively.
Person responsible for the first emergency response project for the migrant population in Alicante Red Cross (ERIE AHIC), Marta Marín, He told EFE that minors are predominantly or in between Babies and children ages 5 to 8 Some of the people who come with their parents and siblings or who are in the adolescent group are ‘unaccompanied’.
According to Marín, it is difficult to predict and explain the surge of minors, but seniors rely on volunteers who care for them. desire for a “better life” and often the intention to pursue higher education in Europe and access quality jobs that are not available in their home country.
Although they come in twelve months, the last week of 2023 has been one of the most active, with four boats with 56 passengers on the beaches of Los Locos in Torrevieja and Barragrande in Altea and offshore south of Altea between Tuesday and Thursday. There are a total of 56 passengers in the state and ahead of Santa Pola, including twelve minor children, some unaccompanied.
The instability and often negativities of the journey weather conditions They encourage some of the immigrants to need healthcare; This happened in 16 cases referred to Doctor Balmis General Hospital in Alicante this year.
Most of these injuries were minor burns caused by the saltpeter and gasoline mixture released from the boat, and bone fractures also occurred while boarding the boat on the Algerian coast, where rocks were often found.
So far, all the dangerous boats rescued in the Community were located in the province of Alicante, from near the province of Valencia to the border with the Region of Murcia, with a profile corresponding to an Algerian male between 20 and 30 years old. relatively good health.
72 hour journey
Also sub-Saharan inhabitants or Middle East, and in most cases they made an average journey of 72 hours from the Algerian coast.
Once rescued, the migrants receive social and health assistance at a seven-module facility run by the Red Cross at pier 25. Alicante port There is a waiting area, infirmary, mediation room, playroom, storage, showers, toilets and adapted bathrooms.
Marín emphasized that this care has two aspects: humanitarian assistance in the distribution of basic needs (food, hygiene and clothing) and medical care through healing of wounds or assessment of health status.
Additionally, personal and health data are collected and they are asked if they have a family network in Alicante or, in most cases, if they are going to France, they are offered a place in the network of primary reception centres. Cross and other NGOs. For unaccompanied minors, The reception is planned to be held in the public headquarters of the Generalitat.
Alicante Red Cross has a team of 150 volunteers, including health, logistics, translation, mediation and coordination personnel, within the scope of the project to provide care to newly arrived migrants from the high seas.
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