An anonymous migrant says that he paid 350 Euros, almost 4,000 kronor and everything the family owned, for the boat trip from Senegal.
A trip that took 15 days.
- We were 129 people on board the boat.
The only thing I want is to work, the man tells SVT's broadcaster.
He is one of an estimated 20,000 African migrants who have made it to the islands so far this year.
That is ten times as many as last year.
Canarian people talk about a migrant crisis and feel let down by the EU:
- The EU treats the islands in its territory as offshore prisons.
The places that the refugees go to become bases for detention and deportation, says José Maria Santana at the Spanish Refugee Commission.
Lacks no grounds for asylum
With the tightening of surveillance in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands have become the new target for migrant flows from Africa.
Most arrivals do not have grounds for asylum but instead aim to go to mainland Europe to work illegally.
And for those who have a passport, it seems pretty simple.
- In three days I'm in Spain.
I bought a plane ticket for 80 Euro.
I came here to get a job, because I'm the younger son, says a man who calls himself Barcany.
Due to the corona crisis, tourists shine with their absence.
The income has disappeared and many hotels are empty, except for those used to house migrants.
Swedish Annelie Weije has lived on the island of Gran Canaria for forty years and has never seen anything like it.
- It is not possible for Gran Canaria to take care of everyone who comes, we must get help from the Spanish government and the EU.
We live on tourism and there are many who do not think it is so nice when so many refugees come in.