He inherited the profession of fisherman from his father and grandfather in Kayarcoastal city Senegal. Overexploitation of fishing grounds by European and Asian ships prompted him to emigrate. Came to Tenerife aboard a canoe in 2006. And in 2021, after several years of working as a representative of the Manteros Union and a leader in the anti-racist struggle, he became a member of the Madrid Assembly. A biography of exile and cultivation that Serigne Mbaye Led to European Union demand fisheries agreements that do not ignore the main victims.

“Europe views the causes of immigration as something foreign, that it happens in Africa and is the fault of corrupt African governments, but its responsibility is never addressed. Much of the blame for this migration lies with Europe itself and the fishing agreements signed with these countries. Europe hides behind the economic compensation it providesbut this is a ridiculous figure, and they know very well that this money is not used for the development of fisheries,” explains Mbaye in a conversation with Independent. Former Podemos MP is the main character SerigneAward-nominated documentary International Emmy Award whose ceremony is celebrated this Monday in NY.

Fishing agreements that promote migration

“For a documentary to get to the Emmy Awards was something unimaginable. These things happen in life and I am very happy,” admits Mbaye, who has returned to his old life after two years as a parliamentarian. The documentary, produced by Spanish production company Zungu and Qatari television Al Jazeera, follows the Spanish-Senegalese man’s steps from his hometown to the European Parliament, where he condemns Europe’s fishing agreements with several African countries, which is one of the reasons for the depletion of fishing grounds , food insecurity in the region and the migration of thousands of Africans without any means of earning a living.

No major changes have occurred, but we continue to see the consequences

“One of the goals of the documentary was to raise awareness that the European Union is one of the main responsible for the forced migration of thousands of Africans who come to Europe in search of the right to a decent life. And how, despite the fact that Europe is one of the causes of migration, it closes its doors to them and criminalizes them,” he notes. Edu Marinone of the directors of the production along with Rodrigo Hernandez And Adriana Cardozo. “He had more trips outside of Spain. We have at least managed to draw attention to an issue about which very little is known.”

“Although you are listening to me today as an MP, you will also be listening to a migrant and a fisherman. The growth of industrial fishing directly affects the employment and food security of thousands of people who depend on the sea,” Mbaye glides before members of the European Parliament at the penultimate station of a journey not yet completed. “There have been no major changes here, but we continue to see the consequences. The proposals spread to the fishing towns of Senegal, and the result was a mass arrival on the coast of the Canary Islands. Most of those who came are fishermen. The problem persists and gets worse,” warns the activist.

Last week, Europe’s border and coastal agency Frontex admitted that the West African route, known as the Canary Route, had recorded the biggest increase in illegal arrivals since the agency began collecting data in 2009. to 13,000, which was also the highest monthly figure recorded in almost 15 years. Senegal, Morocco and Guinea are the main countries of origin for those risking an odyssey that has claimed thousands of lives in the first quarter of this year alone.

The EU’s fisheries agreement with Senegal is being extended next year, and Mbaye remains hopeful. “This needs to change. You can’t sign agreements with people who have no idea about fishing without consulting the fishermen and shipowners,” says the man, who avoids feeling defeated even as the migration drama continues to add more bodies. “Those of us who came in 2006 condemned the situation and its causes. We are in 2023 and the fact that so many people are coming shows that all the measures that Frontex is taking and its policy of closing borders are useless. Cooperation agreements are useless,” he condemns.

Unresolved government issues

And as an example of desolation and the lack of a future, Mbaye emphasizes, “some of the Senegalese who appear in the documentary are already here, they have made the journey.” “They said clearly: if the agreements are not changed and resource shortages continue, we will have no choice but to go to Europe,” he claims. “Some people call me when they come to Spain. I haven’t been to one of the centers in Madrid yet. There are a lot of kids from my city there.”

An endless tragedy that partly explains some of the disappointments that Mbaye accumulated during his political period. “The government doesn’t want these arrivals to make headlines. They do this as discreetly as possible, but a lot of people came, and the reasons are not eliminated. They always try to install patches, and every year more people come,” he warns. “There are good things that we managed to achieve. There are things that we were not able to achieve due to time and complexity of the situation. It was necessary to make visible certain problems that racialized migrants face. And it was very positive that someone of color reached these institutions.”

“There have been moments of mental and physical exhaustion, but there is work to be done in fighting for human rights and trying to ensure there is no injustice,” he adds. Among the unresolved issues, Mbaye names changing “immigration laws because they are unfair and condemn migrants”: “Without being able to get here legally, especially in the African part, we are the ones who come by boat, the ones we jump over the fence. It should be possible to come here legally and there should be no people left at sea. And immigration law must be changed, which also condemns migrants to a life of paperwork and obstacles.”

“It’s a pity that it’s the left, the very ones who lead the anti-racist and anti-migrant discourse, who are doing bad things for migrants,” he laments with some bitterness after his political experience. “The left-wing Spanish government is not bold and, unlike Italy or Portugal, is not willing to carry out regularization,” says Mbaye. “I am very disappointed with the left. While I was in the institution, what happened in Melilla happened. “It was a huge disappointment for all parties on the left, including mine.”

In June 2022, a Melilla fence jump and a crackdown by Moroccan and Spanish security forces left at least 37 people dead and 80 missing, mostly Sudanese. 470 people were returned by Spanish police “summarily and without guarantees” to Morocco, without identifying vulnerable groups or giving them access to judicial resources as required by law, human rights groups condemned at the time. Government President Pedro Sánchez initially said the jump was “well decided” but when images emerged of dozens of corpses piled up after being beaten to the point of suffocation with sticks and tear gas, he corrected himself. His interior and foreign ministers Fernando Grande-Marlaska and José Manuel Albarez, however, defended the actions of Spanish and Moroccan security forces.

“We could break the government”

“I went through it with a lot of anger. I was on the verge of leaving my position because I couldn’t afford to kill people because I knew what they went through to jump over the fence. It was a very big disappointment,” recalls Mbaye. “We could have broken the government and showed our faces, but this was not done. I said this in the game. “It took more courage,” says the man, who – now away from the front lines – claims to be on good terms with the last survivors of Podemos, which has become a small rebel group in Zumara, a coalition led by Yolanda Diaz.

Politicians are to blame for the rise in these racist attacks.

“You need to reflect and see what happened, because before you blame someone, you need to look at what was done well and what was done poorly,” he argues. “Although we must not forget how the leaders of Podemos and the hatred towards this party were demonized.”

Hardened by political battles and disappointments, Mbaye remains hopeful. “You can never lose it,” he says. “Racism has increased in Spain and we must acknowledge this in order to eradicate it. And it is the politicians who are to blame for the increasing number of such speeches. I don’t want to mention any party, but we can clearly see how some are using this issue to gain votes. They are guilty,” he claims. It demands from the new government the courage that the previous legislature lacked.

“I ask you to regularize about 500 thousand people and pass an anti-racism law that punishes those who engage in racist behavior,” he lists. Will Mbaye return to politics? “If I know I can change something, yes, but just for the sake of photography, no.”