Mauritania's deal with EU to stem migration appears to have some effect

The principal of a primary school in northern Mauritania set up specifically for children of migrants trying to reach Europe, says classrooms are emptier this year than before.

It appears that a partnership deal signed last year with the European Union to stem migration is having an effect.

"There are fewer students than before. Many families have been affected by the deportations. They have left the country,” says Sahid Moluh.

According to Mauritanian authorities, more than 18,000 migrants were deported in the first half of this year.

At the end of September, nearly 13,000 migrants from Mauritania reached Spain’s Canary Islands, some 95 kilometres off Africa’s Atlantic coast, more than half the number in 2024.

But while fewer migrants reaching the archipelago, researchers warn they are taking longer and more dangerous routes.

Migrants from West Africa often travel in small wooden fishing boats, from countries like Senegal and Gambia.

Then they go all the way to the Canary Islands, thousands of kilometres away. That often goes wrong, like in August, when a boat capsized off the coast of the village of Mheijrat.

Most of the 160 passengers died. Fisherman Samba Sow points out that the brightly coloured boat is still on the beach.

“The sea was rough, the wind was strong. They were all dead, every single one of them dead. More than a hundred bodies lay here. It`s sad. Every life is one too many,” he says.

Moluh says his wish for the future is that the government genuinely tries to change the situation of foreigners.

“Instead of deporting them, they should find a solution. There are many parents who want to work here legally. But the requirements are simply too complicated.”

Mauritania received over $240 million in EU funding, including for border control and combating human trafficking.