NOUADHIBOU: From the Mauritanian coast, Ahmed, a Senegalese man, looks toward Europe, the place he dreams of being but fears he will never reach due to heightened security against migrants in the west African country.
“Everyone wants to leave,” said the 34-year-old, who keeps a low profile in Mauritania to evade constant police checks.
But “since security was stepped up, no one can get through,” added Ahmed, whose name has been changed for security purposes.
Thousands of west Africans are living in Nouadhibou, hoping to board large, rickety canoes known as pirogues and head on a two-day journey to Spain’s Canary Islands.
Such irregular migration has come to a sudden halt, however, following a crackdown by Mauritania, a vast, desert nation on the edge of the Atlantic, which serves as a major migration departure point.
