ILLEGAL MIGRATION FROM SENEGAL: THE "TITANIC"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 DAKAR 002115

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INR/I, DRL/AE, G/TIP, AF/RSA AND AF/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2011
TAGS: PINR PHUM SMIG SOCI ECON PREL KCRM CV SP SG
SUBJECT: ILLEGAL MIGRATION FROM SENEGAL: THE "TITANIC"
DISAPPEARS BUT MORE AND LARGER BOATS CARRYING WEST AFRICANS
REACH SPAIN'S SHORES (C-TN6-01135)

REF: A. STATE 127504


B. DAKAR 01588

C. DAKAR 01516

Classified By: DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) The supposedly U.S.-bound "Titanic" and its alleged
twin (Ref B) have disappeared. According to the "Titanic's"
builder, it was financed by a Lebanese businessman, (living
near Soumbediounne Market (a large artisanal and fish
market)) in Dakar, while a Spanish national had commissioned
ten smaller pirogues from him. According to the builder and
to media reports, the police were aware that the "Titanic"
and other boats were being made to order specifically for the
journey to the U.S. or the Canary Islands. After the burst
of police activity following initial widespread media
coverage of the "boat people," the police stopped making
inquiries of boat builders and made significantly fewer
arrests of those organizing and attempting the voyage.
Meanwhile, Senegalese have become bolder -- now often leaving
in the middle of the day and, by some reports, bribing the
police and authorities to look the other way. Spain is
feeling the strain and has reached an agreement to start
conducting joint patrols with Senegal, but there is still no
end in sight. END SUMMARY.

THE "TITANIC" IS GONE
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2. (C) A surprise visit to the site in Rufisque where the
"Titanic" was previously reported to have been in the midst
of construction revealed the boat is now gone. The head
builder at the site unhesitatingly told us the "Titanic," a
24-meter pirogue (fishing boat) was financed by a Lebanese
person living or operating near Soumbediounne Fish Market in
Dakar. The boat was built for 8-10 million CFA francs (CFAF)
(USD 16-20 thousand). According to the builder, it is one of
the strongest pirogues built to date and could "easily" make
it to the United States. Nevertheless, after local media
reports brought unwanted attention, the financier sold it.
The buyer in turn resold the boat to yet another person, who,
according to the builder, moved it to one of the nearby towns
of Thiaroye or Yarah to remove it from the public eye. We
visited both places in search of the boat, as well as nearby
Bargny in search of the "Titanic's" alleged twin, but could
find either.


3. (C) The builder revealed that a Spanish national paid for
construction of ten smaller pirogues, saying he "wanted to
help out the fishermen." Many of those pirogues were still
at the site. The builder said police were aware of
construction of these boats and the "Titanic" but did not ask
about or attempt to stop construction. He said police are
often paid off by those organizing trips to the Canary
Islands, and that police have taken the initiative to ask for
bribes. He cited a recent incident in which police stopped a
pirogue with 17 men departing from a location just up the
beach around 3:30 PM one afternoon. The police asked for
money to let the pirogue go, but the passengers refused and
were subsequently arrested.


4. (C) Although the "Titanic" and its twin have apparently
disappeared, large pirogues approaching "Titanic's" size were
visible. One boat on the builder's lot measured 21 meters by
4 meters. There were 20 or so others parked along the area's
coastlines. A young man who had previously attempted the
trip to the Canary Islands told us the pirogue he was on with
91 other people was longer than 21 meters.

A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE SECURITY FORCES
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5. (C) In a visit to the Police Commissariat of Rufisque,
the Commissioner said he had data on the illegal migration
phenomenon but would not be able to share it with us or talk
about such a "sensitive" subject without direct authorization
from the Interior Ministry. He did confirm that the
"Titanic" had left but said the Commissariat's "zone"
(referring to the Rufisque area) was under surveillance.
Interestingly, while waiting to see the Commissioner, we
witnessed one visitor slip a bribe to an officer to help the
visitor obtain a document for his daughter's visa to an
unspecified country. Within ten minutes, a second person
entered the waiting area and also offered a bribe, but the
officer looked at us, then waved the individual away.


6. (C) We got a different perspective from a visit to the
Rufisque Gendarme Station. Upon entering the station, we saw

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gendarmes interrogating someone accused of organizing trips
to the Canary Islands. One officer told us they were going
to use the organizer to try to catch whoever was ultimately
running the operations. The officer said gendarmes were
working with police to do everything possible to stop young
people from leaving. The gendarmes know people are buying
boats in Rufisque for the voyage but believe they are not
going to try to reach U.S. shores. Everyone is aware U.S.
immigration laws are too stringent. Moreover, according to
him, Europeans are "complicit." Noting a labor shortage in
Spain and Portugal, he told us he had heard reports that when
Senegalese make it to the Canary Islands, trucks almost
immediately arrive to take them to work on farms.


7. (C) Despite attempts to stop pirogues from leaving, the
gendarme said there is no solution to the problem. For one
thing, security forces get no cooperation from local people.
"Life here is difficult," he added. "Life in Europe is
better. There is no work here." Pointing to some street
vendors just in front of the station, he described their life
as working all day and night to earn no more than 1,000 CFAF
(USD 2) each day. He said maybe the young should leave. If
given the chance, he, himself, would leave. He said his boss
wants to go, too.

LOOKING FOR AN ESCAPE, FOR FISH, FOR OPPORTUNITY
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8. (C) The gendarme's view is bolstered by talking with
young people who either tried to make the trip and failed or
still have hopes of going. Amadou Diallo, a 29-year old
street vendor, told us he decided to leave because conditions
are tough. He was on a pirogue with nearly 100 other
passengers that departed from Thiaroye (near Rufisque),until
the pirogue developed a fuel problem and began to drift.
They drifted for 16 days. Eleven people died, mainly due to
cold and lack of food. Some on board were so afraid they
jumped overboard and disappeared. He saved his earnings for
one year to be able to pay the 400,000 CFAF (USD 800) fee for
the trip. In spite of the incredibly difficult conditions of
the crossing, he said he would do so again if he got more
money.


9. (C) Diallo and other veterans of the Canary Island trip
are beginning to open up and reveal an additional reason why
they wanted to go. Within the Senegalese family unit and
society, children are viewed alternatively as a drain on or
source of money. A local psychologist told us this is
reflected in the large numbers of child beggars on the
streets of Dakar, who are offered up by impoverished parents
to Koranic teachers who may exploit them for begging. Diallo
and others told us they were, in part, seeking to escape
pressures put on them by their families, who constantly ask
for money.


10. (C) Ali Maron, one of the "boat people" repatriated from
the Canary Islands, said there is also the problem that young
people have nothing to do and no way to make a living wage.
He, too, asserted he would try the trip again and confided a
few passengers from his boat were planning to leave the night
we spoke with him. He said some people in Morocco and
Mauritania were helping to organize the trips, and some are
planning to attempt the crossing to the U.S. in spite of
worries about turbulent seas.


11. (C) It is not difficult to find someone who has
experienced the illicit trip to Spain. People are now
nonchalant about it. The first person we met on the fishing
wharf of Rufisque told us he was captain of the pirogue made
infamous by media reports of cannibalism on board (Ref A).
He confirmed that people began to eat the deceased. He also
said you could hear "babies crying" at night. This drove
four people crazy. Four others jumped overboard. Unlike
most of the other young men we spoke with, he said he would
not make the trip again. However, he talked about the major
problems fishermen face now. Not only are there fewer fish,
there are fewer men to catch the fish. Fishing vessels now
have only half the men needed, because the rest have fled to
Spain via the Canaries for the most part.

LYING FOR THE MONEY AND STEALING FOR THE JOURNEY
-------------- ---

12. (U) The potential profits from organizing these trips
interact crudely with the desperation exhibited by those
wanting to go on them. There are a growing number of stories
of would-be migrants put on boats in southern areas of
Senegal and brought to scenic Saint Louis, where they are let
off and told they are in Europe.


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13. (U) On August 21, four young men in the Casamance, the
region from which a growing number of migrants are departing,
were arrested after robbing some businesses of 12 million
CFAF (USD 24,000) and then using the money to pay the costs
of the voyage to Spain. Local media also noted a rash of
cattle thefts in the Casamance throughout the month of August
and speculated it may be linked to the recent rise in illicit
departures from the region.

SPAIN QUICKLY REACTS TO FLOOD OF NEW ARRIVALS
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14. (SBU) One month after a major international conference
in Rabat to try to jointly fight illegal migration, local
media report, a flood of new arrivals jolted the Canary
Islands. By August 17, almost 3,000 immigrants came.
Between August 18 and 20, 1,151 illegal migrants reached the
Islands. This pushed the number of arrivals since the
beginning of the year past 18,000, far exceeding the total
for 2005. Those reaching the Islands over that weekend came
in what one local paper described as "sophisticated" boats
measuring 30 meters long. Authorities reported finding GPS
devices on board, giving a location where passengers are
transferred from small pirogues to larger vessels and where
they are given fuel, food and water. The large number of new
arrivals in significantly larger vessels inspired Spain to
send its Interior Minister to meet with Senegalese officials
in August.


15. (C) Spanish Embassy representatives told us Spain hoped
to apply the model agreement it had in place with Mauritania,
but they describe coordination with GOS authorities as
"frustrating." To begin with, there is confusion over the
two levels of assistance being offered to Senegal. The EU
has provided use of two airplanes and a boat (to be operated
by EU nationals) via its Frontex program, which will last
nine weeks (though with the possibility of extension).
Separately, Spain has provided a helicopter and smaller
equipment, such as bicycles, beach-combers, and night-vision
goggles, which the GOS demanded as a condition to accepting
the Frontex material. Spain also plans to provide three
additional patrol boats. In return, Senegal agreed to
conduct joint patrols of the open waters, which should begin
within the next two weeks. They are still not sure how these
patrols will work or what they will do with any boats
intercepted on the way out of Senegalese waters. The Spanish
Embassy also brought up the additional problem of
repatriations, as they have not yet succeeded in reaching a
repatriation agreement with the Senegalese.


16. (C) Spanish diplomats admit they know that Spain cannot
stop all migrants, and say they are just looking for a way to
control the phenomenon and also to ensure that migration
(legal or otherwise) occurs in humane conditions. They are
increasingly concerned about the growing numbers of people
leaving from neighboring countries, such as The Gambia and
Guinea-Bissau. They believe those boats leaving from Senegal
are largely "improvised." They fear, however, that Senegal's
neighbors carry the potential for widespread criminal
organization of such trips.


17. (C) Our Spanish Embassy interlocutors expressed hope for
the coming weeks but noted the GOS has offered no viable
solution to its own domestic problems. Although Spain has
offered to contribute 100 billion CFAF (USD 200 million) to
President Wade's "Return to Agriculture" (REVA) Project,
meant to encourage young people to take up agriculture rather
than the trip to Europe, Spanish Embassy representatives know
Senegalese youth view REVA as a joke. The Spanish were
surprised when a Spanish company came two weeks ago to offer
to set up a bio-diesel fuel facility, guaranteed to create
50,000 jobs, but was rejected. The GOS told the company
Senegal was "tired of being exploited" and "treated like a
slave." The contract went to Mozambique, instead.
Furthermore, Spain and Senegal had a joint project in place
to install refrigerated storage units for fish, something
many fishermen say is sorely needed. The project has been on
hold for one and one-half years because the GOS has not yet
arranged electricity for the site of the units.

COMMENT
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18. (C) There is a general and powerful sentiment among the
poorest Senegalese that their future is hopeless and they are
powerless to change that. Former "boat people," factory
workers, and even some government workers say they no longer
believe in Senegal. Even those who refuse to make such a
sweeping statement tell us the GOS response to this crisis is
ineffective. Many view illegal migration as "win-win"

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situation for both those risking the perilous voyage and the
GOS. It gives those on the boats a sense of hope and control
over their destiny, while also serving as a way for the GOS
to shed the country of thousands of unsatisfied people to
whom it can give no work. In a politically precarious time,
the GOS probably sees this as an ideal solution. If neither
the Senegalese nor the Government are interested in stopping
the "boat people," Spain's optimism for the coming weeks may
quickly dissipate. END COMMENT.
JACOBS