Mosa’ab El Shamy, North Africa photographer based in Rabat, Morocco, spent a week on assignment in Western Sahara, gaining exclusive access to a little-seen but vital piece of the migrant smuggling chain — boats that are built to order, then spirited from the remote desert sand to carry migrants to the Canary Islands. A European Union agency calls it “the most dangerous migratory route in the world.”
A car follows coordinates leading to the remote desert where smugglers build and conceal fishing boats intended to carry migrants to Spain’s Canary Islands from Dakhla in Morocco-administered Western Sahara, Dec. 22, 2020.
AP Photo / Mosa’ab Elshamy
Smugglers exit a tent that is used while building fishing boats intended to carry migrants to the Canary Islands, in the remote desert out of the town of Dakhla, in Morocco-administered Western Sahara, Dec. 22, 2020.
AP Photo / Mosa’ab Elshamy
Smugglers prepare to lift a fishing boat, intended to carry migrants to the Canary Islands, onto a vehicle in the remote desert near the town of Dakhla in Morocco-administered Western Sahara, Dec. 22, 2020.
AP Photo / Mosa’ab Elshamy
Smugglers turn over a recently built fishing boat intended to carry migrants to the Canary Islands, in the remote desert near the town of Dakhla in Morocco-administered Western Sahara, Dec. 22, 2020.
AP Photo / Mosa’ab Elshamy
Children play on a fishing boat which smugglers had intended to use to transport migrants, but which was burned by authorities, near La Sarga just outside of Dakhla in Morocco-administered Western Sahara, Dec. 22, 2020. The peninsula city of Dakhla boasts a thriving fishing port, and kitesurfing enthusiasts flock to its waters. But in recent months, its beaches have become a prime embarkation point for smuggling networks eyeing the Canaries, 500 kilometers (300 miles) north.
AP Photo / Mosa’ab Elshamy
El Shamy was closely monitored by security agents in the disputed territory, but was able to slip into the desert in company with locals. There, he was introduced to a senior member of a smuggling network and was able to convince the smugglers that he would protect their anonymity while photographing them at work. His initiative and courage were rewarded with striking images and detailed reporting on the thriving trade of supplying boats for the perilous Atlantic migrant route.