Khalid, a migrant from Gambia, sits under a bridge where he slept, on a breakwater at Gran Canaria island, Spain, Aug. 22, 2020.
AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti
Video journalist Renata Brito and photographer Emilio Morenatti revealed that migration from Africa to Europe is still happening in the depths of the coronavirus pandemic – and shifting from the Mediterranean to the deadly Atlantic route. The Barcelona-based journalists traveled to the Canary Islands and saw firsthand boats full of migrants – including some who had died – arriving on the Spanish archipelago.
The pair was kicked out of the port area for trying to document arrivals because it’s such a sensitive subject, and many sources, under government pressure, stopped talking to the AP. But the AP team worked around the restrictions, getting access to migrants and spending time with them. Brito and Morenatti reported that more than 250 people are known to have died or gone missing so far this year, and at least 20 bodies were recovered in the week we there, evidence of the extreme risk taken on the ocean crossing.
The story attracted attention in Europa and Africa with high engagement, particularly for the photos and video.