<![CDATA[Ara Balears in English - migration]]> 10 <![CDATA[Moha]]> Not too many days ago I had a bump with the car. Nothing of great importance, more than a slightly dented door and the documentary and management hassle that the thing entails in the following days. This week I went to the workshop assigned to me by the insurance company to have it appraised. A workshop run by Manacor people of the kind they now call 'of a lifetime'. 'You'll have to wait a little, because the young man who takes care of it starts at nine', and I went back into the car and spent some time there scrolling through my mobile phone.After a few minutes, "the young man who takes care of it" appeared, smiling. "I'll take a couple of photos and send them to the house. If they don't see any signs of fraud, we'll move forward and you won't have to bring it back until we have to fix it," he told me amiably. We entered the office: "I'll jot down my direct number for you," and he gave me a card with a name written by hand. I'm not wearing my glasses. "Who should I ask for?" "Moha," he told me.If you had heard us, you would not have made any difference. Both of us adapting to the slightly formal and a little distant and cordial tone that the communicative situation required. Both of us in a 'lifelong' Manacor Catalan. Basically, because both of us are, 'lifelong' Manacor residents, from my life and from hers.And we'll leave it at that, I'll call him. There's no more difference between Moha and me than the origin of the name, within the professional relationship we've had. Obviously, then each to their own home, and the dogs to Coll's, as they say. Already in the car, I delve into my linguistic and cultural musings. I've thought about our great-grandparents in Havana, or in Buenos Aires, which are the two mythical names with which people of a certain time summarized the Majorcan diaspora in America. How must they have done it? They must have learned and spoken the language of the place, of course. But they must have looked for each other, they must have formed a community. What language did they speak to their children, if they formed a family there? All sorts of situations must have occurred. It depended on whether both parents were from here or not, whether they saw themselves returning to Mallorca someday, whether they thought that to ensure the future in the new land it was convenient to speak to them in Spanish or whether, on the contrary, they didn't want their children to lose the language their parents had taught them in any way.Just like all the people who arrive in Mallorca and who right now represent a third of the population. The narratives, depending on who articulates them, use different, sometimes antagonistic vocabularies: “coexistence”, “interculturality”, “integration”, “assimilation”, “cultural substitution”, “invasion”...We are moving in slippery terrain that allows for two interpretations: the most raw and uninhibited capitalism has settled within our homes. It is as if the United States had disembarked its model directly on this small island of ours in the middle of the Mediterranean. Incessant and tumultuous movements of population to feed the monetary greed of a handful of new rich and speculators, so that they can continue to pluck the golden goose of tourism on the backs of others; and a society divided into isolated communities, into stagnant ghettos that seek no other bond than the commercial or labor one, and even then. Rootedness and sense of belonging are weak. It is a way to keep communities poorly anchored to the territory, with no interest in defending it, and divided, with no possibility of organizing collectively, of uniting for a common cause, of questioning this or that policy together.However, let's talk about the second reading. Languages and cultures can be linked to a territory, but they can also be linked to a community. Neither of these two assumptions makes them better than others. Nor worse. All cultures, all languages, are necessary to sustain the global 'lingosystem'. Each way of speaking represents a way of understanding and interpreting the world. As humans, we cannot afford to do without any. Neither the others', nor our own. No one is in a position to tell another what language to speak, nor what form their cultural expressions should take. And we Catalan speakers in Mallorca know this well, because, however little we want to keep the presence of the language alive, we come up against ignorance, contempt, and affront.The singer and creator Joana Gomila (what would we do without her?) recently gave us a new idea: the right to cultural opacity. The idea is from the thinker from the island of Martinique, Édouard Glissant, who says that people, cultures, and languages do not have the obligation to be completely transparent or understandable to others. The idea of "translating everything" into one's own frameworks is very much linked to a way of understanding the world that is very colonial, perhaps even supremacist.Let's think of all of us, of all the Majorcans of today, those who were born here and those who have come. Whatever their lineage and their names. All have the right to preserve an irreducible part of their culture, the right not to be completely translatable, the right to exist without having to justify themselves according to external categories. Let's think about it, we Catalans of Mallorca, for ourselves, in this essential depth of our way of seeing and understanding the world. If we do, we will be more capable of empathizing also, for that very reason, with all this otherness that is now so ours, so from here, and that does not arrive as a threat to dilute us, but as an opportunity to make us richer, and I'm not talking about money.Because suspicion, obsession, and hatred, in general, are not usually cultural, even though the Spanish far-right, and now also the Catalan one, want to dress it up as such. Hatred, obsession, and suspicion, unfortunately, are class-based and the rejection of difference is arbitrary and depersonalizing.Moha's case from the workshop sends me back to school, which is, for now, the only meeting space we have managed to set up. That's where this normality comes from. From there, empathy must be able to emerge and suspicion towards difference must be dismantled. And from there, the building material we need must be able to emerge to construct the necessary bridges and meeting spaces, also in adult life, to become a plural, healthy society and, yes, call me naive, with the Catalan language as the backbone of it all.

]]> <![CDATA[Experts warn of rights violations in cases against captains of migrant boats in Balearics]]>

The Observatory on Migrations in the Mediterranean (OMIMED) has initiated a collaboration with the Proyecto Patrones, an initiative driven by lawyers and activists specializing in the defense of individuals accused of captaining vessels in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. The objective is to analyze and improve the legal guarantees for alleged captains prosecuted in Spanish courts, especially in territories like the Balearic Islands, where these types of cases have increased in recent years.

]]> <![CDATA[No to war: either we defend life or we become accomplices]]> There are moments when silence is not prudence but complicity. Moments when looking the other way is not neutrality but surrender. And this is one of those moments.

]]> <![CDATA[Migratory flight: the Balearic Islands shoot up with 32.7% more arrivals while Spain falls 64%]]>

The Balearic Islands began 2026 with a sharp increase in irregular sea arrivals of migrants, in a context of a general decline in the rest of Spain. Between January and March, the Islands registered a 32.7% increase compared to the same period last year, while Spain as a whole experienced a 63.8% decrease and the Canary Islands an even more pronounced drop of 85.3%. The data point to a displacement of migratory flows towards the Algerian route, which in recent years has been gaining importance, positioning the Balearic Islands in a central role.

]]> <![CDATA[Migration: the Balearic Islands skyrocket with 32.7% more arrivals while Spain falls by 64%]]>

The Balearic Islands have started 2026 with a sharp increase in irregular maritime arrivals of migrants, in a context of a generalized decrease in the rest of the State. Between January and March, the Islands registered a 32.7% increase compared to the same period last year, while Spain as a whole experienced a 63.8% drop and the Canary Islands, an even more pronounced fall of 85.3%. The data points to a displacement of migratory flows towards the Algerian route, which in recent years has been gaining importance to place the Balearic Islands in a central position.

]]> <![CDATA[Court reinforces police presence in migrant regularization process but not attention]]>

The Palma City Council has reported that from this Tuesday, the number of Local Police officers will be increased in the queues that form at the Citizen Service Offices due to the large influx of people. They have also urged the Spanish government delegation to mobilize National Police officers in the same way. However, what the Martínez government does not plan to reinforce is the service of attention, given the avalanche of migrant people who come to the offices since the regularization process began.

]]> <![CDATA[Investigate the finding of two bodies on Formentera beaches]]>

The Civil Guard has opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the death of two bodies found on the beaches of Formentera.

]]> <![CDATA[The Government will return to the courts if the State extends the distribution of migrant minors]]>

The Balearic Government maintains its tug-of-war with the State over the distribution of migrant minors and already warns that it will return to the courts if the Spanish government approves a new decree to extend the current system. This was announced this Friday by the Executive's spokesperson, Antoni Costa, after the Governing Council, in a press conference marked by the firmness of his speech.

]]> <![CDATA[Search underway for a boat with 30 people on board that has been missing for three days near Cabrera]]>

The Spanish Maritime Rescue Service has deployed a search operation in the southern area of ​​Cabrera after receiving a report of a missing boat carrying 30 migrants, which disappeared three days ago. The alert was issued by the NGO Alarm Phone, which assists migrants in distress in the Mediterranean, through a message posted on its social media account. According to the organization, the boat departed from the coast of Boumerdès last Saturday with 30 people on board. Sources from the Maritime Rescue Service confirmed to Europa Press that an active search is underway in the area, involving two Frontex aircraft flying over southern Cabrera. In addition, notices to mariners are being issued asking them to report any sightings of the boat, although so far no sightings have been made. The search continues, while authorities and NGOs stress the urgency of locating the missing persons to prevent a tragedy.

]]> <![CDATA[Hooligans who make King Pig true]]>

"Only Vox can clean up what's there"Vox will clean house." Thus, quite naturally, employing two languages ​​within the same sentence—one to satisfy the loose ends coming from Palma and the other to remind himself a little of the one he speaks every day—Esteve Sureda, spokesperson for the far-right party in Manacor, referred to the municipality's need for cleanliness. He wasn't talking, however, about papers, trash, overflowing containers, or abandoned street furniture. He was talking about people. In any case, the conflict, the problem, and the row are theirs, those who made the video recalling "our customs" and "our godfathers" without hesitation to speak a language they never spoke. What, for him, should be "Mallorcan identity"? The far-right's cynicism is outrageous. The alarms, however, are all going off because of racism and the The xenophobia of this party, which shamelessly replicates the dehumanizing patterns of 1930s Nazism, culminated, it must be remembered, in one of the most shameful episodes in human history: industrialization.

]]> <![CDATA[Fed up with 21st-century slave owners]]>

One of the best pieces of news these days has been the state government's announcement, twenty years after the last one, of a new regularization process for undocumented migrants residing in Spain. This is excellent news in terms of human rights and citizenship, even though the denial of human rights, including genocide, has become socially accepted today.

]]> <![CDATA[The lives that await the word 'favorable']]>

When Romina received her degree in digital communication in Argentina, she went out into the street in costume with her friends and they threw "eggs and a mix of things" at her to celebrate what they call "the received"for the achievement. She imagines, repeatedly, that such a scene is repeated; a fantasy of reliving it the day that obtain legal residency in Spain. She is 32 years old. She arrived in Palma almost three years ago, fleeing instability and a lack of opportunities in her country. Since landing, nothing has been as she imagined. "You always come with illusions that mask reality. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but not that it would be this difficult. They don't recommend anyone come without papers. It's living 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with constant uncertainty and frustration," she admits.

]]> <![CDATA[Prosocial demands that IMAS close Son Tous: "It cannot be a resource of marginalization"]]>

The institutions of the Islands are boasting about the facilities they have set up as emergency resources to accommodate the migrants who frequently arrive on the shores of Mallorca – such as the old barracks of They are allwhich already houses minors. While the Spanish government and executive branch celebrate the opening of this type of facility, Prosocial, an organization that fights to defend social rights, points out that the people arriving by boat to the Balearic Islands "are fleeing wars, persecution, and hunger," and therefore "must be offered the maximum protection." For this reason, the organization notes that during the presentation of the proposal to restrict access to Son Tous for young migrants, Vox argued that the facility would offer few amenities and would have a deterrent effect on others intending to migrate. The far-right's intentions raised alarm bells at Prosocial, which is demanding that the Mallorcan Institute of Social Affairs (IMAS) close the center because, in its view, "Son Tous cannot be a place of isolation and marginalization; nor can the reception of minors be a form of punishment."

]]> <![CDATA[A cohesive country or simply a transit territory: what future do the Islands want?]]>

As the population of the Balearic Islands has grown, so too has the lack of social cohesion. Adding to this the spread of far-right rhetoric and the increasing influx of vulnerable people arriving by sea, it becomes clear that the Islands will face, yet again, the major challenge of social cohesion in 2026. With over 1.2 million inhabitants, half of whom were born elsewhere, the islands' multicultural identity needs to be rethought. All this is happening while living conditions are becoming increasingly difficult for the majority of the population, who can no longer even dream of owning a home. Many people are forced to leave, making the Islands a place of transit. The situation is complex, defies easy solutions, and demands a concerted effort from everyone, especially politicians and institutions.

]]> <![CDATA[115 migrants rescued from four boats in Formentera and Mallorca]]>

The Civil Guard and Maritime Rescue have rescued a total of 115 migrants traveling aboard four boats located between Friday night and Saturday morning in the waters off Formentera, Cabrera, and southern Mallorca. The first intervention took place on Friday at 11:38 p.m., when a boat carrying 26 people of sub-Saharan origin was intercepted off the northwest coast of Cabrera, in southern Mallorca, according to the Government Delegation. This was the first boat located in Mallorca this year and the second in the Balearic Islands, after another boat with 16 occupants was intercepted hours earlier in Formentera. Later that morning, around 2:40 a.m., rescue teams located a boat with 13 people of North African origin half a mile from the La Mola lighthouse, in southern Formentera. Later, at 7:50 a.m., 20 people of North African origin were rescued from another boat south of Formentera. Simultaneously, a fourth operation was carried out southwest of Cape Blanc, in Mallorca, where a group of 29 people of sub-Saharan origin were assisted. The last boat of the day was located at 10:50 a.m., when a group of 27 people of sub-Saharan origin were rescued from a vessel located southeast of Cabrera. According to a count compiled by the EFE news agency from data provided by the Ministry of the Interior and the Government Delegation, six boats carrying a total of 131 people have been located in the Balearic Islands so far this year.

]]> <![CDATA[The nameless ones who continue to die trying to reach Europe]]>

The NGO Caminando Fronteras released its annual tally of deaths while attempting to reach Spanish shores, noting a significant increase in shipwrecks of boats trying to reach the Balearic Islands from Algeria. Of the 3,090 deaths recorded, a third (1,037) occurred on this route, which departs from North Africa and heads towards Formentera and Ibiza. The contrast between migrants arriving on beaches packed with tourists, representing their dream destination, is one of the images that best encapsulates the contradictions of the modern world. The majority of fatalities (1,906) continue to occur on the route from Africa to the Canary Islands, although this year there has been a significant decrease compared to last year. It should be noted that 2014 was a record year, when more than 10,000 people drowned trying to reach Spanish shores. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of the Interior, irregular migrant arrivals to Spain decreased by 40.4% compared to 2014, despite a 24.5% increase in arrivals to the Balearic Islands. We cannot turn a blind eye to such a painful reality, even though Europe has often believed that the best way to avoid encouraging these journeys is to abandon these people to their fate. We recall that high-seas rescue initiatives like the one carried out by the Catalan NGO Open Arms are condemned by the far right, from Salvini to Vox. Throughout its history, the ARA has documented some of these rescue operations with journalist Cristina Mas and photographer Xavier Bertral, and the conclusion is always the same: it is naive to think that people will not risk their lives to reach Europe by putting themselves in the hands of smuggling rings when they see no future, no opportunities, in their homeland.

]]> <![CDATA[26 migrants rescued near Cabrera Island]]>

A total of 26 migrants were rescued Saturday night in waters near the island of Cabrera after maritime surveillance systems detected a vessel sailing close to the coast. The operation was launched around 8:00 p.m. and involved the Provincial Maritime Service of the Civil Guard and Maritime Rescue. The boat was intercepted about 0.30 miles southwest of Cabrera, and all those on board were taken to port, apparently in good health. This latest rescue coincides with a particularly tragic day in the Balearic Sea. On the same Saturday, two bodies were recovered in waters near Cabrera, bringing the number of people found dead or missing this year along the islands' coastline to 59. The arrival of migrants by irregular sea continues unabated in the archipelago. According to a count compiled from official data from the Ministry of the Interior and the Government Delegation, nearly 400 boats carrying at least 7,406 people arrived in the Balearic Islands this year. These figures surpass those recorded last year, when 5,882 people reached the Islands via the same route throughout 2024, according to the National Security Annual Report.

]]> <![CDATA["If Vox were in power, it would also try to attract migrant workers."]]>

The president of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad, Driss El Yazami (Fez, 1952), knows well the price of being a human rights activist after experiencing imprisonment and exile in France during the reign of Hassan II. Currently, the institutional weight of his position has not distanced him from the realities of his country, as demonstrated by his advocacy for changes that would make it more democratic. Yazami visited Mallorca to present a study on school enrollment and dropout rates among Moroccan students.

]]> <![CDATA[A cruise ship rescues 19 people aboard a boat in the waters of Cabrera.]]>

A cruise ship rescued 19 people on Sunday from a small boat 20 miles off Cabrera and transported them to the port of Barcelona.

]]> <![CDATA[Police accused of preventing a report for the disappearance of a migrant on his way to Mallorca.]]>

The Caminando Fronteras collective has accused the National Police of preventing two women from reporting the disappearance of a relative while trying to reach Mallorca by boat. This was stated by the head of the NGO and human rights defender, Helena Maleno, in a message posted on her X account.

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