By Esther Edoh
Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines – The bodies of eleven people, believed to be migrants from Mali, West Africa, were discovered inside a boat that washed ashore on the Caribbean island of Canouan, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, authorities have confirmed.
Police officials stated that the identities of the deceased remain unclear, but passports found at the scene suggest they may have originated from Mali, a landlocked West African nation more than 6,000 kilometers (3,800 miles) away.
The vessel, measuring approximately 45 feet in length, 12 feet in width, and 6 feet in depth, was discovered grounded in Little Bay on Monday. This tragic find comes only months after a similar incident in St. Kitts and Nevis, where a boat containing 13 dead bodies, some with Malian documentation, washed onto the shore.
Eujin Byun, the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) global spokesperson, told the BBC that the migrants, presumed to be from Mali, likely intended to reach the Canary Islands. Given the small size of the boat recovered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Byun suggested it was “highly unlikely” they were trying to reach the Caribbean.
“We cannot talk on behalf of those who have passed away, but our best guess is that they wanted to take the Atlantic route to get to the Canary Islands,” she added.
The discovery underscores the dire conditions facing Mali, where conflict and instability have internally displaced hundreds of thousands of people. According to the European Commission, approximately 6.4 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian aid, and over 1.5 million require emergency food assistance.
Byun explained that Mali has been experiencing a “cycle of violence” since 2012, triggered by a Tuareg rebellion in the north and the subsequent rise of Islamist groups. This instability has severely restricted access to essential services and forced Malians to seek better livelihoods elsewhere.
“Desperate people make desperate decisions,” Byun stated, highlighting the challenges faced by refugees who often encounter similar hardships in neighboring Sahel countries, driving them to seek refuge further afield.
The UNHCR is concerned that the Atlantic route from Africa to Europe is receiving less attention than the Mediterranean route, leaving migrants vulnerable to exploitation. “Smugglers are taking advantage of this,” Byun warned, emphasizing the need for increased awareness and support for those fleeing conflict and instability in Africa.
Authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are continuing their investigation into the incident.
