Las Raíces is a macro camp located in La Laguna, Tenerife, for the reception of migrants who have followed the migration route mainly from West Africa and who have been blocked from accessing the islands. According to Frontex, in 2021 around 22,500 migrants will arrive in the Canary Islands via the Canary Islands route from Africa.

Since its opening, there have been numerous neighborhood complaints about the living conditions in the center, the cold and the poor quality of the food. There have also been several confrontations and violent episodes between its inhabitants due to these tensions. This has caused dozens of people to leave the macrocamp to settle in nearby informal settlements. Far from any urban center, there is no public transportation system, so migrants must walk along a nearby road with heavy traffic.

Human rights organizations denounce these types of macrocamps for their poor conditions, which affect the physical and mental health of those who live there and are frustrating for migrants, who see their immigration process blocked. They denounce that the islands become large open-air prisons for migrants, a model that tends to become chronic and that has already failed in other cases such as Lesvos or Lampedusa.

The NGO Caminando Fronteras, an expert on migration on the southern border of Europe, has calculated in its report Monitoring Right to Life on Western Euro-African Border 2021 that In 2021, 4,400 people died on the maritime access routes to Spain. Of these, the route from the Atlantic coasts of northwest Africa to the Canary Islands was the deadliest of all: 4,016 people lost their lives in a total of 214 shipwrecks. It is the worst highest figure in history on this route. And yet, even today, complementary legal and safe means of accessing the Spanish State have not been established.

Las Raíces is a macro camp located in La Laguna, Tenerife, for the reception of migrants who have followed the migration route mainly from West Africa and who have been blocked from accessing the islands. According to Frontex, in 2021 around 22,500 migrants will arrive in the Canary Islands via the Canary Islands route from Africa.

Since its opening, there have been numerous neighborhood complaints about the living conditions in the center, the cold and the poor quality of the food. There have also been several confrontations and violent episodes between its inhabitants due to these tensions. This has caused dozens of people to leave the macrocamp to settle in nearby informal settlements. Far from any urban center, there is no public transportation system, so migrants must walk along a nearby road with heavy traffic.

Human rights organizations denounce these types of macrocamps for their poor conditions, which affect the physical and mental health of those who live there and are frustrating for migrants, who see their immigration process blocked. They denounce that the islands become large open-air prisons for migrants, a model that tends to become chronic and that has already failed in other cases such as Lesvos or Lampedusa.

The NGO Caminando Fronteras, an expert on migration on the southern border of Europe, has calculated in its report Monitoring Right to Life on Western Euro-African Border 2021 that In 2021, 4,400 people died on the maritime access routes to Spain. Of these, the route from the Atlantic coasts of northwest Africa to the Canary Islands was the deadliest of all: 4,016 people lost their lives in a total of 214 shipwrecks. It is the worst highest figure in history on this route. And yet, even today, complementary legal and safe means of accessing the Spanish State have not been established.

Las Raíces es un macrocampo situado en La Laguna, Tenerife, para la acogida de migrantes que han seguido la ruta migratoria procedentes principalmente de África occidental y que han sido bloqueados para acceder a las islas. Según Frontex, en 2021 unos 22.500 inmigrantes llegarán a las Islas Canarias por la ruta de las Islas Canarias desde África.

Desde su apertura, han sido numerosas las quejas vecinales por las condiciones de vida en el centro, el frío y la mala calidad de los alimentos. Desde su apertura, han sido numerosas las quejas vecinales por las condiciones de vida en el centro, el frío y la mala calidad de los alimentos. Esto ha provocado que decenas de personas hayan abandonado el macrocampo para instalarse en asentamientos informales cercanos. Lejos de cualquier núcleo urbano, no dispone de sistema de transporte público, por lo que los migrantes deben caminar junto a una carretera cercana con tráfico intenso.

Las organizaciones de derechos humanos denuncian este tipo de macrocampamentos por sus malas condiciones, que afectan a la salud física y mental de quienes viven y son frustrantes para los migrantes, que ven bloqueado su proceso migratorio. Denuncian que las islas se convierten en grandes prisiones al aire libre para migrantes, un modelo que tiende a cronificarse y que ya ha fracasado en otros casos como Lesbos o Lampedusa.

La ONG Caminando Fronteras, experta en migración en la frontera sur de Europa, ha calculado en su informe Monitoring Right to Life on Western Euro-African Border 2021 que en 2021 murieron 4.400 personas en las vías de acceso marítimo a España. De éstas, la ruta desde las costas atlánticas del noroeste de África hasta las islas Canarias fue la más mortal de todas: 4.016 personas perdieron la vida en un total de 214 naufragios. Es el peor dato más alto de la historia en esta ruta. Y sin embargo, todavía hoy sigue sin establecer vías legales y seguras complementarias para poder acceder al Estado español.