Canarian president Fernando Clavijo has stepped up his criticism of his counterparts from other Spanish regions for their refusal to resolve the plight of thousands of young migrants currently being looked after by the authorities in the Islands.
Clavijo is demanding an urgent meeting with Spain’s Minister for Children in his latest bid to unblock the political stalemate that has prevented the unaccompanied migrants from being redistributed to other parts of the country. The Canarian government had believed the hard part of the long, drawn-out process was over when an agreement was reached in mid-March to amend key legislation to enable a sharing of the burden of caring for the spiralling number of youngsters who arrive in the Canaries on migrant boats from Africa.
However, the joy was short-lived as several regions have since used a host of legal and political manoeuvres to block the redistribution, insisting that they have neither the room nor the financial resources to take on the responsibility.
The Canarian president, who slammed his counterparts for their lack of solidarity with the children (and the Canaries) and for turning the urgent issue into a political football, is afraid that the better weather in the coming months will see an increase in boat crossings from the west coast of Africa and, consequently, more arrivals of youngsters, adding to the almost 6000 already in the care of the regional authorities.
A Canarian government source said that a substantial number of the current youngsters being looked after here need to be reaccommodated on the mainland by June at the latest in order to avoid an even bigger crisis situation in the summer.
