A mutiny by migrants housed in a holding centre in Tenerife was triggered by a paternity test, it has now emerged. The rebellion lasting several hours saw police reinforcements dispatched to the facility, which once served as the main prison in Santa Cruz.
According to sources, the row developed when social services, backed by a court order, tried to remove a 5-year-old girl from the care of a man who said he was her father but turned out not to be when a mandatory paternity test was carried out as part of normal procedures at the centre.
The surprising test result prompted a request by social services to have the young girl transferred to a local children’s home while her fate was decided. However, when staff attempted to remove her, the man and other migrants living in the centre, which is run by the Red Cross, barricaded themselves in with the girl, sparking a standoff that lasted around six hours.
The mutiny led the authorities to seal off the area in the busy Los Gladiolos district. Up to twenty police cars and vans were sent to the scene as tensions mounted in and outside the building, where up to twenty other migrants, mostly mothers with young children, had returned after spending time in the city but were not allowed to enter. The situation ended after midnight when the mutineers were eventually persuaded to comply with the court order and hand over the girl to social services.
The bizarre incident has sparked speculation as to the reasons why the male migrant claimed to be the girl’s father, with some suggesting that it may have been a ploy to boost his chances of being allowed to remain in Spain. An investigation has been ordered into the circumstances of the child’s arrival in the Canaries, including whether her mother may not have survived the crossing from Africa.
(Photo of former prison now used as a migrant facility)
