Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by Jan-Philipp Scholz
00:36 Jaime Pascual | Fisherman
01:04 Toni Pascual | Fisherman
01:33 Ibrahim | Migrant from Somalia
01:46 Mamadou | Migrant from Guinea
02:36 Víctor Malagón | Local journalist

Script:

A few minutes past 6 in the morning - we are on our way out into the Mediterranean. Fisherman Jaime and his brother Toni have been navigating these waters for 20 years.

But lately, they've made frequent sightings of something unusual: Migrant boats passing by their ship.

Probably due to the bad weather, no boat has shown up today – but Jaime shows us videos he filmed recently. These boats can cross the Mediterranean in just a few hours, he says, and claims the crossings are becoming more common.

+++SOT - Jaime Pascual, fisherman, Spa.+++

"It has increased a hundredfold. It used to make a great story if you'd see a boat like that. Nowadays, when the weather is good and there is a full moon, we sometimes see 3 to 4 boats a day passing by."

Normally the boats carry 20 people or more, the brothers say. And they come from the direction of Algeria, about 300 kilometers to the south.

+++SOT - Toni Pascual, fisherman, Spa.+++

They must have some kind of factory there that makes these boats. They always look the same. There are now hundreds of them piled up on the island's rubbish dumps. And they aren't small, old boats. They have strong engines.

Back on the island, at Mallorca’s ferry port, we meet a group of migrants who made the journey just the day before. Today, they already intend to continue their trip to the European mainland.

+++SOT - Ibrahim, migrant from Somalia, engl.+++

"I don‘t know what will be the next step. I came here for a better life and to feel safe. Where I am from, it’s not good for people to live there."

Another person from the same boat has a clearer plan.

+++SOT - Mamadou, migrant from Guinea, frz.+++

"For me there are only two options. I want to go either to France or to Germany."

Immediately after reaching Mallorca, the young men received a document from the Spanish police ordering them to leave the EU. But Spain is in a diplomatic feud with Algeria, which refuses to take back migrants. Another complication is that the Spanish government has not set up a proper migration center on Mallorca. There's only a facility for minors. A timely asylum procedure is an absolute exception this island.

Local journalist Victor Malagón confirms this. He says the current system conveniently allows the island’s overwhelmed authorities to let the migrants move on as quickly as possible.

+++Víctor Malagón, Ultima Hora, span.+++

They are given this paper to leave the country - and then they can go wherever they want. They often travel to the mainland and then to France, Belgium, Germany or other European countries.

At the end of the day, even more migrants arrive at the ferry port - with few posessions but abundant hope for a better life somewhere further north.

END