towards Las Palmas of Gran Canaria, the capital of the Canary Islands. Geographically, the Canaries belong to Africa and not to Europe. However, over the course of the last 500 years, so many Spaniards have settled on these islands that they have become a European outpost. A desirable outpost too; all ships heading for America used to stop here first before sailing across the Atlantic. Nowadays, the islands offer visitors ‘a slice of Europe’ with an African climate – sunshine all year round.
18 November 2007
Having delivered and received passengers, the Hannover leaves Las Palmas and heads towards the south-west coast of Africa. It’s now on course for Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Engineer Karl hasn’t found any plastic ducks on this journey. However, that afternoon the officer on duty spots something else that catches his eye, something dangerous: ‘nutshells’. Nutshells are small, wooden fishing boats filled with African refugees, often found floating off into open seas in hope of reaching the Canary Islands. The officer informs the captain of this news.
For captains of ships that take the same routes as refugees, these encounters are often complicated. Not only is the captain obliged to help people in distress at sea, he also wants to help them. But he knows that doing so could cause problems for all parties involved. He asks himself: Do the refugees need help or would they rather be left alone? If he takes them aboard in international waters, there will be the difficult question of where they can disembark. No country is obligated to take refugees. Almost every captain has heard tales of ships taking refugees aboard only to discover that the refugees are simply not welcome anywhere . The refugees will be angry if they’re left in the wrong country, and the shipping companies will be anything but pleased if there’s a hold up in the schedule as it will cost them hundreds of thousands of euros.
However, by the time the captain arrives on the bridge the boat can no longer be spotted with a pair of binoculars and the refugees aren’t responding to radio contact. The captain can see from the radar, however, that they are on course for the Canaries. No rescue is needed, this time. The captain breathes a sigh of relief and announces, “Steady as she goes.”
20 November 2007
The Hannover has reached the coast of Senegal which sticks out into the sea like a nose. On its outermost tip is the capital, Dakar, with its suburbs, international airport and fishing village complete with beachside hotels. In the bay, which is on the route to Dakar’s harbour, is the 1,000 metre long island of Gorée. Gorée is known as the ‘Island of Slaves’ and was named by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) as a ‘World Heritage Site’. Slaves were once shipped abroad from this island. The ‘Slave House’, a round building painted pink in the centre of the island, is still visible from a distance. There’s a small opening in the wall of the building, which became famously known as the ‘Door of No Return’. The Africans who went through it never saw their homes again. After being locked in small cells for a week they would be squeezed like livestock onto ships. It was well known that many would die on the transatlantic journey from illness, hunger and thirst. The cane sugar and tobacco plantations in South America and the Caribbean needed workers who could toil in immense heat. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, somewhere between 10 and 50 million Africans were abducted from their homes in the first and most cruel wave of globalisation of modern times.
Senegal: Poor Country, Rich Country
Like many West African countries, Senegal is a fairly poor country due to a recent and dramatic population increase. The population has doubled in the last 20 years, so around half of the 12 million Senegalese citizens are less than 20 years old and two thirds of them can neither
18 November 2007
Having delivered and received passengers, the Hannover leaves Las Palmas and heads towards the south-west coast of Africa. It’s now on course for Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Engineer Karl hasn’t found any plastic ducks on this journey. However, that afternoon the officer on duty spots something else that catches his eye, something dangerous: ‘nutshells’. Nutshells are small, wooden fishing boats filled with African refugees, often found floating off into open seas in hope of reaching the Canary Islands. The officer informs the captain of this news.
For captains of ships that take the same routes as refugees, these encounters are often complicated. Not only is the captain obliged to help people in distress at sea, he also wants to help them. But he knows that doing so could cause problems for all parties involved. He asks himself: Do the refugees need help or would they rather be left alone? If he takes them aboard in international waters, there will be the difficult question of where they can disembark. No country is obligated to take refugees. Almost every captain has heard tales of ships taking refugees aboard only to discover that the refugees are simply not welcome anywhere . The refugees will be angry if they’re left in the wrong country, and the shipping companies will be anything but pleased if there’s a hold up in the schedule as it will cost them hundreds of thousands of euros.
However, by the time the captain arrives on the bridge the boat can no longer be spotted with a pair of binoculars and the refugees aren’t responding to radio contact. The captain can see from the radar, however, that they are on course for the Canaries. No rescue is needed, this time. The captain breathes a sigh of relief and announces, “Steady as she goes.”
20 November 2007
The Hannover has reached the coast of Senegal which sticks out into the sea like a nose. On its outermost tip is the capital, Dakar, with its suburbs, international airport and fishing village complete with beachside hotels. In the bay, which is on the route to Dakar’s harbour, is the 1,000 metre long island of Gorée. Gorée is known as the ‘Island of Slaves’ and was named by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) as a ‘World Heritage Site’. Slaves were once shipped abroad from this island. The ‘Slave House’, a round building painted pink in the centre of the island, is still visible from a distance. There’s a small opening in the wall of the building, which became famously known as the ‘Door of No Return’. The Africans who went through it never saw their homes again. After being locked in small cells for a week they would be squeezed like livestock onto ships. It was well known that many would die on the transatlantic journey from illness, hunger and thirst. The cane sugar and tobacco plantations in South America and the Caribbean needed workers who could toil in immense heat. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, somewhere between 10 and 50 million Africans were abducted from their homes in the first and most cruel wave of globalisation of modern times.
Senegal: Poor Country, Rich Country
Like many West African countries, Senegal is a fairly poor country due to a recent and dramatic population increase. The population has doubled in the last 20 years, so around half of the 12 million Senegalese citizens are less than 20 years old and two thirds of them can neither
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