2023-11-09 20:30:00
Several of the immigrants transferred to Sobrado, going up to their rooms to rest. Marcos Miguez
They were transferred to a boarding house, where they will remain for a maximum of one month.
09 nov 2023 . Updated at 8:02 p.m.
At half past six in the morning, tired and sleepy, the ten young Africans that the Government transferred to Sobrado from the Canary Islands, after a bus trip from Madrid. They arrived and had breakfast, shyly, as acknowledged by Gelines Méndez, owner of the Vía Sacra pension, where they were housed in three rooms with four beds. «In Sobrado we are not racist», he says so that no one doubts that the ten young people will be well received, despite the language problems, in this establishment opened three years ago. Only half speak French; the rest, dialects. They are from Gambia, Senegal and Bali. The expectation is that they will stay for a maximum period of one month in this 12-room pension located in the heart of Sobrado, with views at the back of the monastery. Two people from Accem, a non-profit organization, help them with the language and paperwork with the ministry.
Gelines goes out of her way to make sure they are comfortable and assures, excitedly, that we are a country of emigrants. She explains that one of them came out in short sleeves and when she called him to get out of the cold again she responded with a greeting. “This is not the Canary Islands, but he didn’t understand me», he explained before preparing the lunch menu, where the main dish was baked chicken with potatoes. After eating it, they blurted out a «nice», before returning to bed to rest. They were still exhausted from the hustle and bustle of the trip and only one went out in the afternoon for a walk wrapped in a down jacket.
In the early hours of the morning, immigrants from the Canary Islands arrived in Sobrado dos Monxes
D. Vazquez
Cheikh Amour is reluctant to speak and refuses any type of photography, “for security.” He explains that he is 23 years old, he left Gambia for Senegal, spent years there and returned home several times, until he decided to embark on a trip that took him to Mauritania, Morocco and, from there, to El Hierro. “We were at sea for eight days, I managed to get them to let me board without paying for the boat,” he says and explains that sometimes the skippers let one or two people get on to complete the passage without paying the ticket. A luck that he attributes to charity, since the price can exceed 5,000 euros. «It wasn’t easy, but there were no problems», explains one crossing what he did in a boat with others 192 personas. Some of them have also arrived in Galicia, but were transferred to Sanxenxo. He says he doesn’t know anyone about Sobrado’s group. Ten others arrived in the city of A Coruña and were taken to a hotel.
«“I was the man with 12 jobs.”, Cheikh Amour graphically explains what he did for a living in Gambia and Senegal. “Whatever he went out, he traded, laid pavements, sold food…”, he comments. He says that he hopes to work, but that for the moment, he is going to follow Accem’s instructions. His aspiration is to achieve reunification with a brother who has been living in Madrid for about 15 years, but who is now traveling in Senegal.
Filed in: Sobrado dos Monxes
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