A beach in northern Senegal has a few small sand mounds that mark the resting sites of countless migrants who attempted the perilous voyage from West Africa to Spain.
The 19- and 24-year-old nephews of Mouhamed Niang vanished in late June.
“I’ve been looking for my nephews for three weeks now without any news from them,” he says.
“I heard the government say there are some bodies collected onshore and buried in graves near the beach. That is really awful.”
According to the U.N. International Organization for Migration, at least 2,300 migrants left Senegal in the first half of the year in an attempt to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, but only around 1,100 made it.
The fate of the more than 1,000 individuals who did not travel to Spain is unknown. They might have perished at sea, been saved from sinking boats, or be in custody of the law.
Ibnou Diagne, one of the survivors from a boat that capsized in early July while traveling to Europe, spoke of his ordeal.
“I lost many people when the boat capsized. I lost my friend Abdourahmane. I lost everything. I paid money, the first time 420 dollars and 680 dollars the second time.
“The sea is not good. I lost everything. I lost my clothes. If I were to give advice here it is. If someone wants to travel to Spain, don’t take a pirogue [canoe], you have to take a plane.”
Beach burials, a tradition that has been observed for many years, experienced a significant surge in 2023. In the initial seven months alone, approximately 300 bodies were laid to rest on the shores, surpassing the previous year’s total of just over 100 burials in 2022.