Harraga

Harragas , from Arabicحراقة, DMG ḥarrāqa 'those who burn (their immigration papers )' are North African migrants who attempt to immigrate illegally to mainland Europe or European islands in makeshift boats. The name comes from the practice of burning their immigration papers when they are arrested.

Via the Harraga emigration from North Africa , Algerian , Tunisian and Moroccan Harragas usually attempt to cross the Strait of Gibraltar to reach Spain , i. H. the Spanish region of Andalusia and the Spanish exclaves Ceuta and Melilla . Sometimes the journey from Africa leads to the island state of Malta or the Italian island of Lampedusa . They often set out from here to emigrate to other countries / regions in Europe .

On the Atlantic coast of North Africa, Mauritanian and Senegalese refugees , hoping to reach the Spanish Canary Islands , set off in small, shallow boats called pateras in Spanish , or in inflatable or paddle boats. Since boats like these are not suitable for ocean crossings, the death rate for harragas is very high. The reasons for daring this extremely risky crossing are twofold: the profound economic poverty and seeking asylum due to extreme political repression across North Africa.

See also

• Immigration to the EU via the Mediterranean
• Immigration from Africa to Switzerland

literature

• Sansal, Boualem . Harraga , (Merlin, 2007, French: Gallimard, 2007) ISBN 978-3-87536-254-1
• Lozano, Antonio . Harraga , (Zech, 2011, Spanish: Zoela, 2002) ISBN 978-84-938151-1-0
• Obinu, Arianna . Harraga, il sogno europeo passa attraverso la Sardegna (2006-2012) , Livorno, Edizioni Erasmo, 2013 (Italian) ( ISBN 9788898598014 )
• Article about Harraga in contemporary francophone literature, in: Romance Studies 3 (2016), online version (French).