50 - A Sea of Plastic

2023 No 50

You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.
—Deuteronomy 24:14

We have sought to introduce the Western Mediterranean Route through this blog site for the past few months. After a brief introduction, we examined the movements from points of origin (sub-Saharan Africa) and through places of transition (Morocco). In this post, we begin to take a quick look at what happens when migrants arrive in Spain. They typically fall into two groups. First, there are those with support networks upon arrival. They tend to move beyond Spain. Second, there are those who have lost or never had such connections. They typically become stranded.

The former find support in one of four ways.

Relational Networks: These are generally family and friends who live in European places of destination. They know migration can benefit the individual migrant and their families back in Africa. They may have initially extended the invitation to come, but that invite can be very conditional. Most tell the migrants they cannot and will not help them until they physically arrive in Europe. But… they also tell the migrants that if they can get across the Med… they should make contact, and they will help them go north and assist with housing and work.

Communal Networks: In contrast to the above, these are established network systems. They assist members of their community in migrating to Europe for economic purposes. Well-organized communities both at home and in Europe will pay the extra expense to get the migrant “on the field” as expeditiously as possible. Once they arrive in Spain, they proceed directly to their city of destination. They then join other members of their community, live in their apartments, and use their papers to work. Resources are then pooled, and remittances are sent back to the community of origin to fund projects such as schools, medical clinics, water supplies, and mosques.

Religious Networks: These networks are much like communal networks, only funded by religious groups in places of origin. Most all these religious networks send members to Europe to fulfill their organizational objectives. These can be as positive as the sending of evangelical missionaries. Or it can be economically motivated, as with the Muslim brotherhoods or Nigerian neo-pentecostal churches. These networks can be very controlling of their emissaries and very efficient in achieving their goals.

Educational Networks: Like above, there are recruiters who facilitate migration into North Africa and Europe. Some of the brightest students use this opportunity to attend universities worldwide. Many will return to their countries of origin, while others will remain living and working abroad. Most will stay in their host countries legally. Others, however, will overstay their visa and enter the illegal immigrant population.

Each of the above four networks provides a certain level of encouragement and support for migration. Some of these migrants go under very favorable circumstances, and the process benefits the migrant, their families, their home, and their host communities. Others go under significant cultural pressure to provide support for both family and community in their places of origin. Most have weighed the cost/benefit ratio and anticipate a measure of success. After all, there are indeed those who have been successful.

It is essential to recognize that apart from educational migrants, many will not travel directly to their desired places of destination. In other words, they do not get direct flights. They will, by necessity, be forced to navigate through various transition zones. That means they become dependent upon and subject to the different logistical systems to get them from origin to destination. Many of these systems are criminal in context, dangerous in nature, and motivated by economics. Those with significant resources can travel relatively quickly and without discomfort. Those with diminished finances face the hazards of the road and become subject to the smugglers' brutal and often violent conditions.

Consequently, not every migrant has access to the above support networks during critical segments of their journeys. In fact, many migrants are forced to travel independently. Some may have relational contacts in Europe, but those relationships lack the means or willingness to offer support. Others left home with the family savings (offered, borrowed, stolen) in their effort to fund the journey, but they ran out of money along the way. Still others left home because they were forcibly displaced due to various insecurities. Without any support network in Africa, they make their way to Europe, hoping for safety and a better life. They take the “pay as you go” approach. At any given time, hundreds of thousands of people may be on the move on both sides of the Mediterranean. Along the way, these migrants will encounter two kinds of transition networks, each with a unique set of self-serving objectives.

Criminal Networks: We must recognize that almost every aspect of SSA migration is touched by or engaged with a criminal network. Most all smugglers are organized to some degree. It can be as small as a group in a region that arrange housing and transportation for migrants. It can be as significant as the Italian mafia working with rebel groups in Libya and traffickers in Nigeria. Above all, where money can be made, there is often substantial organized crime to be found. Because billions of euros/dollars are involved, mafias from North Africa, Nigeria, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, and even Asia have a presence in Spain.

Refugee Networks: As expected, the international community and local governments have taken responsibility for specific categories of migrants. Refugees have fled areas of intense insecurity and have traveled to Europe for safety and economic benefit. They have faced the same perils as other migrants who have little resources. Upon arrival in Europe, however, they become the responsibility of the government when they claim asylum. If granted asylum, they continue within the “refugee network” and can obtain long-term benefits… and sometimes the opportunity to relocate to interior European countries. Those who remain in Spain can be given legal residency status, permission to work, and access to governmental assistance. For a select few, surviving another three years without violating the conditions of their refugee status allows them to apply for citizenship.

The above conversation is helpful when considering the migrant populations in Spain. Most who had support networks from the beginning of their journey do not stay in Spain. It was not their destination. They have an objective that leads them to the interior of Europe, and they have connections with the means to achieve their goals.

Those who are typically found in southern Spain are those who left their homes, voluntarily or involuntarily, without proper support. They arrived independently without any meaningful future assistance from their places of origin or someone on the European continent. They have been on the journey for so long that many of their families back home believe them to have died. Their incapacity to repay the money expended to get them to Europe, and their ultimate condition as beggars, creates great shame. Thus, they rarely make contact back home. Nor, upon arrival, is there any group in Europe to help them find a place to live, food to eat, or to find a job.

It may also be helpful to note that many North Africans (Moroccans / Algerians) have also sought to immigrate to Spain. Like many SSA Africans, they come independently seeking work. Some estimate that half to three-fourths of all illegal immigration into Spain is from North Africa.² Some arrive on tourist or temporary labor visas and then overstay. Others come across in their own boats, separate from SSA Africans. For a variety of reasons, Moroccans and Algerians cannot typically claim asylum, so they do not want to be captured by the Spanish authorities. They quickly fade into the Spanish landscape and the illegal African populations upon arrival.

Returning to our focus, the SSA migrants are often disillusioned. By this time, the dream of Europe has evaporated. They realize that, like their time in Morocco, they are now stuck. The numbers are hard to identify... but there are likely more than 250,000. Only this time, there is little to no hope for movement. In many ways, it is once again the criminal networks that hold the keys. For reasons of illicit profit, they have created an environment where these illegal immigrants (and some refugees) simply cannot exit the region, even if they have the means. Understanding this level of entrapment requires a brief review of the agricultural conditions of Andalusia.

ANDALUSIAN AGRICULTURE

The agriculture industry of Southern Europe, particularly Andalusia, is significant. Spain is a major producer of many fruits, vegetables, and olive products distributed worldwide. Andalusia has over 45,000 hectares of greenhouses, 40,000 hectares of vineyards, and 1.5 million hectares of olive groves.³ European economy does not create much of a profit margin for the farmers, so they seek to contain costs at every opportunity. This, in turn, means that the farms are heavily dependent upon migrant labor.

The legal wage for an immigrant is 42-48 euros per eight-hour day. Additionally, employers must pay into the social security system for each employee. Farm laborers are supposed to be protected by standards of legal labor practices. If hired, they must be retained unless there is cause for termination. They must be allowed to work a whole week and cannot be overworked or abused. If registered with the government, they serve as one of the most expensive labor options for farmers. If they hire illegal migrants, however, they can pay roughly 10 euros per day with no guarantees of any kind. Consequently, legal work becomes hard to find and refugees often hide their status simply to increase the opportunity to secure a job.

We have spent a significant amount of time in Spain. There is one area in southern Almeria that warrants attention.⁴ The number of greenhouses was simply beyond description. There is an area around the two towns of Roquetas de Mar and El Ejido that is some 170 kilometers to the east of Malaga. It has over 35,000 hectares of greenhouses. It is so large that it can be viewed from outer space. It is situated close to the beach and is hosts a large tourist area. There are hotels, restaurants, and recreational areas. It creates quite a contrast between the affluent tourists and the impoverished immigrants.

One government agency reported that it takes, on average, 2-3 laborers per hectare to manage a greenhouse. Thus, in this one area, there is a need for 70-105k laborers. The system records that there are 40k registered with the government, and their social security benefits are being paid. This leaves at least 30-65k positions open for illegal immigrants. Because many of these illegals are day laborers, (who do not work every day), most officials who are familiar with the region estimate that there may be as many as 200,000 illegal immigrants in this one region. 40% are from the Maghreb, and 60% are SSA. Nearly 100% of these workers are men.

Due to extreme poverty, they tend to live in one of two conditions. First are slum communities, where they construct their shelters using refuse from the greenhouses. They are typically located around the actual farms. The second are those who live in "foyer" like apartments in the region. These buildings have 40+ units with 8-10 people in each room. In these neighborhoods, one could see the occasional "family ."It is presumed that these are among the elite immigrants who have found secure employment and can afford a different lifestyle.

Of particular note, we saw several "foyers" dedicated only to women. These were the brothels established for the migrant labor populations. The government decriminalized prostitution in Spain in 1995; recent estimates place the industry revenue at 26.5 billion dollars annually.⁷ This makes Spain the third largest capital of prostitution, behind Thailand and Puerto Rico. It is no surprise that European mafias are very active in the region. It is thought that over 90% of prostitutes are victims of sex trafficking. This has become big business, and African women are often the victims. Most of the prostitutes serving the field laborers are typically sub-Saharan and are managed by Spanish and Ukrainian criminal groups. These conditions are replicated across Southern Spain.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the need for immigrant labor creates a profitable presence for organized crime, a system of exploitation by many farmers, and a sense of entrapment for the immigrants. Different from the situation in the Maghreb, these immigrants are not just frustrated by a seemingly impassible barrier. In Southern Europe, they are demoralized upon the realization that Europe was a false dream, leading to worse conditions than where they left.

It is hard to describe the conditions in the fields of Andalusia adequately. One can drive for days and find migrant workers in all of the fields, particularly during harvest season. What is not seen are those hidden underneath the roofs of the greenhouses. It is in that sea of plastic where there may be more loss and suffering than the actual water that brought them there. But it is there where our Lord's grace and the Gospel's message may be the most receptive.

¹ See Lisa Natterer and Schreier Dchreier, "Europe’s Dirty Secret: Slaves and a Sea of Plastic - Rape and Abuse: The Price of a Job!", NetWomenhttps://netzfrauen.org/2021/05/01/spain-6/ (accessed March 3, 2023).

² Cynthia Gorney, "African Migrants in Europe Trade One Hardship for Another", National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/african-migrants-in-europe-trade-one-hardship-for-another-feature (accessed March 12, 2023).

³ One hectare is equivilent to 2.5 acres.

⁴ See Andreanne Williams and Nico Swanepoel, "Europe Gets Produce, Migrants Get Exploited", Deutsche Welle https://www.dw.com/en/spains-sea-of-plastic-where-europe-gets-its-produce-migrants-get-exploited/a-47824476 (accessed March 3, 2023).

⁵ Lauren Dauphin and Voiland Adam, "Almería’s Sea of Greenhouses", NASA: Earth Observatory https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150070/almerias-sea-of-greenhouses (accessed March 3, 2022). See also Andreane Williams; Nico Swanepoel, "Spains “Sea of Plastic”: Where Europe Gets Its Produce, Migrants Get Exploited", InfoMigrants https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/15606/spains-sea-of-plastic-where-europe-gets-its-produce-migrants-get-exploited (accessed March 27, 2022). See also Natterer and Dchreier.

⁶ See James Rippingale, "Consumers Are Not Aware That We Are Slaves in Greenhouses", Aljazeera https://balkans.aljazeera.net/teme/2019/10/20/potrosaci-nisu-svjesni-da-smo-mi-robovi-u-plastenicima (accessed March 3, 2023). See also David Browne, "African Migrants Survive in “the Cemetery” to Work in the Fields and Greenhouses of Andalucía", Equal Times https://www.equaltimes.org/african-migrants-survive-in-the?lang=en#.ZAHz0-zMKrO (accessed March 3, 2023).

⁷ Annie Kelly, "Prostitution Is Seen as a Leisure Activity Here: Tackling Spain’s Sex Traffickers", Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/may/11/prostitution-tackling-spain-sex-traffickers (accessed March 22, 2022).