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Nearly a dozen sub-Saharan Africans have died recently trying to
reach Spain's North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Their deaths,
along with new repatriation efforts by the Moroccan government, have
sparked controversy and concern. But those who have actually reached
Europe's borders haven't necessarily found the promised land.
Samuel Edusa Eyison arrived in Barcelona in 1984 with an accounting
degree and high hopes for a prosperous new life in Spain. Today, the
dreams of this native Ghanaian have only been partly realized. He gets his
Spanish citizenship papers next year. But despite his accounting
background, Mr. Eyison earns a living as a private chauffeur.
Nor is he the only African having to start from scratch in this
prosperous province of Catalonia, home to roughly 700,000 foreigners -
Spain's largest immigrant population.
"Actually, it's very hard. A lot of immigrants are qualified to do
certain jobs. We have doctors. We have nurses, we have a whole lot of
professional immigrants. The point is when they come here they don't have
the opportunity to exercise what they've learnt in Africa. So they have to
do every kind of job," he said.
Although the plight of thousands of Africans trying to reach Spain has
been in the news in recent weeks, the majority of foreigners here are not
from sub-Saharan Africa. They come from Latin America, Eastern Europe and
Morocco. And many come by ordinary means not via Spain's North African
enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
Regardless of their origins, however, immigrants have largely been good
news for this Mediterranean country, analysts like Rickard Sandell say.
Mr. Sandell works at the El Cano Royal Institute, a Madrid-based policy
group.
"Spain has had a very large economic boom for many years, and the
economic growth has benefited from the large immigration intake they've
had. But that might change, if economic conditions become worse," he said.
Earlier this year, the leftist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero offered hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants the
opportunity to legalize their status. So far, almost half a million have
obtained legal working papers.
But in Barcelona, immigration specialist Ghassam Saliba Zerghondi says
becoming legal is only the first step.
Mr. Zerghondi heads immigrant affairs at the CCOO, a Catalonia trade
union based in Barcelona. He says legal working papers granted to
immigrants in Spain often limit their opportunities to blue-collar jobs.
In recent years, too, Mr. Zerghondi and other experts say, it has become
increasingly harder for foreigners to apply for political asylum in Spain
and in other European countries.
Joaquim Chanque May does not remember facing such daunting hurdles when
he arrived to Barcelona, as a student from Equatorial Guinea 30 years ago.
After completing his university studies, Mr. Chanque May opted to stay
on, because he opposed his country's government.
Now 57 years old, Mr. Chanque May owns a small business and has Spanish
citizenship. But he says he and his family are not completely welcome in
their adopted country.
Mr. Chanque May says his children face discrimination at school. The
problem isn't fellow students, he says, but their parents, who tell their
children not to play with blacks.
Mr. Chanque May has been following the plight of his fellow Africans
who have been trying to reach Spain via Morocco. Despite the many
shortcomings of life in Spain, he considers himself lucky to be here and
not braving the Spanish frontiers of Ceuta and Melilla.
Still, Mr. Chanque May does not intend to remain in Spain all his life.
He says he considers himself first and foremost an African and a Guinean.
And someday, he says, he hopes to return to live in his native land.
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