‘Canarians’ born overseas – La Province

The Archipelago is a reference for intercultural coexistence in Spain. Around half a million residents in the Islands were born abroad and 35% of them have already acquired Spanish nationality to get more involved in the community’s development.

Brahim Bilali Brahim

Monitor

Brahim was born in a humble neighbourhood of Casablanca, Morocco. When he was one and a half years old, his mother passed away, and he was raised by his paternal aunt. He juggled high school studies with work to make ends meet. At twenty years old, he received a call that was going to completely change his life. His sister, a resident in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since 1990, asked him if he was interested in coming to the Islands to improve his living conditions. He couldn’t say no. Without hesitation, he said yes. The only condition his sister imposed was not to tell the family anything. So, Brahim travelled to El Aaiún, in Western Sahara. There he found out that the journey to the Canaries was going to be by a small boat. He had to pay 600 Euros to secure a spot on the precarious craft. The expedition organizers took Brahim to a house, where he spent a few hours with other young people who told him that they had been waiting to depart for over three months. They explained that the delay was due to the alleged increase in military patrols in the area and bad weather. That same night, several off-road vehicles drove Brahim and the rest of the young people through the dunes in complete darkness, intending not to alert the authorities. After two days without food or water, they reached the seashore, where they boarded the small boat. The journey was unstable. The waves pushed the boat forcefully, reaching heights of up to ten meters. “We saw death very up close,” he assures. Brahim acquired Spanish nationality after a decade of paperwork and has built his new life on the Islands. He found a job as a monitor at a youth centre, a profession that he is proud of, got married, and now has a Canarian son.

Saily Almaguer Concepción

Pharmacist

Saily was born in Cuba in 1973. She completed her Pharmacy degree at the University of Havana and moved to Belgium with her husband. After not being able to conceive a child naturally, she arrived in the Canaries in April 2006 with the intention of undergoing in vitro fertilisation. Like many migrants who come to the Islands, Saily had family in Agaete through her husband. However, despite arriving at the airport legally, they remained in the Archipelago without papers until they regularised their status by working for several years. She worked as a waitress in local bars, cleaned homes, and took care of elderly people and children. On July 12, 2008, the joy of her life, Ian, was born. “It was the happiest day of my life,” she comments. After divorcing her husband, it took several years before she could return to Cuba to introduce Ian to the family she left behind. As she switched between different jobs, Saily managed to have her Pharmacy degree recognised in January 2010. Upon returning to Gran Canaria, Saily met her current partner while teaching salsa classes in the municipality of Agaete. “I met him through a couple who welcomed me as soon as I arrived on the island. In fact, she is my son’s godmother. I stopped teaching salsa as soon as I started working at the pharmacy, but sometimes I would meet him to teach him a couple of moves,” she reminisces. In 2012, Saily obtained Spanish nationality for living several years in the Canaries, as well as for her work as a pharmacist. She highlights that there were no problems during the process and that it was granted to her without difficulties. For Saily, the Islands have been the setting for many good memories and experiences. “I had some problems because I didn’t have my family close by, and also, I had divorced my son’s father. Despite not having blood relatives, only my son, I am surrounded by friends whom I consider my Canarian family,” concludes the pharmacist.

Bamba Diop

Educator and Translator

For the Senegalese Bamba Diop, Tenerife represents his people in Senegal. The sea – which he loves -, nature, and the mountains are some of the similarities he finds between the neighbouring territories. “I feel at home here,” he states. The people are also more open and ready.

As Bamba confesses, one of the reasons he fell in love with the Canaries was the help he received. In his case, the motto so often heard in his country of Barca or Barsahk (Barcelona or death) was never a priority because he wanted to build a new life on the islands. The 24-year-old arrived by cayuco in 2018, on a five-day journey that was not easy. In Senegal, he worked as a sailor and was well aware of what he was up against when he set off for the archipelago. Upon setting foot on solid ground at 17, he was sent to jail until it was discovered through bone tests that he was a minor. Language was one of the main difficulties Bamba faced. One of many, because his journey did not end when he got off the boat and, in fact, it has not ended yet: “The process is very long, but I have been fortunate to meet people who support me a lot and, therefore, it has not been so tough.” The Senegalese has made such important friendships that he considers them brothers, “my Canarian family.” His cousins and father also live on the islands, specifically in Gran Canaria.

Today, Diop has two jobs: the first one in a banana company in Tenerife and the second one as an educator and translator in a reception centre.

The young migrants who are now going through the situation he experienced six years ago see him as a reference of prosperity and a mirror to look at. Those who arrive and do not speak Spanish need support mainly from translators to communicate with the authorities so that they do not end up like him when he entered the cell. Bamba is “fighting” to obtain nationality because it is not an easy process while having a residence permit. His goal for the coming years is to become a police officer, but just in case it is not possible, he has a backup plan: to open a restaurant with African and Canarian food because cooking is another of the boy’s great hobbies.

Sandra Leticia Mireles Daniel

Doctor

Sandra was born in Monterrey, the capital of the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. She discovered the Canary Islands in 2009 when she decided to look for a partner online. Although she was hesitant to trust the people she met on the internet, she attributes to coincidence, karma, or destiny having met her current partner, a lawyer born in San Mateo, Gran Canaria. Sandra remembers that they had a great connection from the very beginning, as they were both looking for a serious relationship. Once, while exchanging messages online, she decided to call him, and upon hearing his voice, she knew he was the missing piece. She decided to visit him and spend Christmas together. On her second trip to the islands, he proposed to her. “I decided to leave my life in Mexico mainly for love, but over time I realized the wonders and tranquillity that the island offers. The peace you feel, the security, and the rights as a woman are a great treasure to me,” Sandra acknowledges. Destiny also helped her process her move to the Canaries. The university where she studied opened a call for the homologation of Medicine degrees, under rigorous scrutiny from the European Union embassy and an agreement with several universities in Madrid. The ambassador from her hometown, Monterrey, was a Spanish doctor who sympathized with her situation and helped her through the process. Sandra, who has been working as a family doctor since 2011, recalls that she and her husband found it difficult to have children. However, they persevered, and after 4 years, they managed to have their daughter through in vitro fertilization. She now lives a fulfilling life, with ups and downs: “I’m not going to lie. Sometimes we have experienced racism, but we know it is out of fear of the unknown and ignorance.” She obtained Spanish nationality after living several years in Spanish territory, and the process was straightforward as she had worked for years as a doctor.

Queen Gloria Trujillo Valdés

Doctor

Queen Gloria is a Cuban doctor residing in Gran Canaria who describes herself as a lover of dance and the elderly. Born in Havana in 1960, she was a laboratory technician specializing in hematology while studying Medicine. She managed to graduate after 6 years with a son, Idel Yanier. Before migrating to the Canaries, she traveled the world while on a ship with her ex-husband, the chief engineer, working in the Cuban merchant navy. She recounts that, 14 hours away from arriving in Vietnam, she survived a shipwreck, emerging unscathed after spending 17 hours in the open air. Her passion for travel brought her to the Canaries in the 90s, and she was captivated by the similarities she found with her Havana. “I dress up for Canary Day. I come from an island very similar to Gran Canaria. The population, the streets, especially those in the historic district, remind me a lot of my country,” she explains. She has visited almost all the health centres in Gran Canaria, highlighting the El Calero Health Centre. “My colleagues are my family. They have been very kind to me. They have given me stability, both workwise and emotionally. I love them,” the doctor affirms. Since the first of July, she has been working as an interim doctor at the San Gregorio Health Centre in Telde, but as of this week, she also works as an interim doctor at the Lomo Magullo health centre in Telde. Besides her love for the elderly, dance, Canarias, and her work as a doctor, Queen Gloria emphasizes the importance

Ricardo Mendoza Schiappacasse

Baseball Player

Ricardo Mendoza Schiappacasse is only twenty years old, but his heart is already divided among the three lands where he has lived. The first is the place where he was born and where he spent his childhood, the city of Charallave, in the state of Miranda, Venezuela. The second is Madrid, where he started a new life with his parents and met his best friend. And the third is Tenerife, where he currently resides and also plays in Spain’s top baseball team. In reality, he has been away from his home country for practically longer – around four years on the Peninsula and five in the Canary Islands – than he lived there, as he left at the age of eleven.

His parents came for political asylum, a right that people persecuted for various reasons can claim, and settled in the capital. Ricardo arrived in the Islands because he participated in a baseball championship that brought together the best in Spain and caught the attention of the owner of the Tenerife Marlins team in Puerto de la Cruz.

At first, he came alone and lived with his coach until he could bring his family. He recounts that at the beginning they faced “a complicated situation where they didn’t have much money,” but everything improved when they arrived in the Archipelago. It took him about seven years after arriving in the country to obtain nationality. Specifically, at the beginning of the previous league, a year and four months ago. Despite having some Spanish relatives in his family tree, an Italian grandfather and Polish great-grandparents, he naturalized after a long process that had nothing to do with that. “I missed championships and national team calls for not having it, but fortunately, I now have it,” he says. The adaptation process is usually not easy when changes come during adolescence, however, he confesses that it could not have gone better for him. In Venezuela, he had friends whom he missed at first, but he was always well received here. His first day holds a curious story: “I arrived on a day when there was a strike and there were only four people in class, Salazar, one of them, became my best friend to this day.”

Ettouhami and Zahira Essalmi

Estate Worker

Ettouhami was born in Morocco and arrived in the Canary Islands in 2003 with the intention of improving his future after experiencing major economic crises in his country. Like all migrants who board a small boat, Ettouhami set sail without knowing the harsh weather conditions he would have to face during the journey to reach the Islands. Despite the rough waves and heavy rain that occurred during the trip, Ettouhami achieved his goal of reaching the island coasts. Once settled in Gran Canaria, he managed to bring his wife from Morocco and start a family. Ettouhami is aware that there are migrants who survive the journey and others who disappear into the sea. “Here I had my first treasure. My daughter Nour, who is now eight years old,” he explains. His second son Saad was born after four years, and a few months ago, the family grew with the arrival of Osaid. Ettouhami, now with three children born in the Archipelago, applied for Spanish nationality after spending a decade in the Canaries working in various trades, gaining experience in those related to agriculture and caring for banana plantations. He thanks the Canary Islands for the opportunity to have built a family, which he considers the main pillar of his life. Ettouhami acknowledges that everyone is very happy on the island and highlights having obtained a stable job that allows him to continue developing professionally. He now works as an estate worker in the village of Sardina, in the municipality of Gáldar. His main role is to take care of a banana plantation from start to finish: cutting the leaves when they are dry, harvesting the banana clusters, and labeling them for commercialization. “Migrants arrive in another country without knowing anyone and without knowing what to do. We have to fend for ourselves, and also we are asked for papers to work. I hope the procedures speed up because we can wait up to three years to get the required documentation,” he concludes.

Félix Gracia Témich

Physicist

Physics has always fascinated him. Félix Gracia Témich left Mexico to arrive with his family in Tenerife after a journey he would always remember. Lost flights and passports aside, on September 27, 2006, he landed in the Archipelago drawn by astrophysics and, in particular, by the Observatory of Roque de Los

Expats Share Their Stories of Starting a New Life in the Canary Islands

Alfredo Caraballo Rocha is a physicist who studied Physics, then pursued a master’s and a doctorate, specializing in the design and manufacture of optical instruments. In his home country, he worked in engineering, related to the military sector, a job that didn’t excite him much. However, the opportunity arose to focus on research, which required him to spend some time abroad. “Physics brought me to the Island, the planets aligned, and thanks to an agreement, I chose the Canaries,” he recounts.

Alfredo Caraballo Rocha

Builder

Alberto Caraballo was born in Uruguay 58 years ago. His new life began in November 2002 when he arrived in Tenerife. He didn’t choose the destination himself, as he says, “the reality is that it was a matter of chance.” Upon arriving, he faced some challenges in obtaining his residency permit. “The reality is that it wasn’t as easy as I thought,” he reveals.

For many years, he worked as a builder, a profession that was in high demand during the construction boom. However, finding accommodation was difficult as landlords were wary of immigrants without documentation. After staying in a guesthouse with his wife and two daughters for at least four or five months, he finally secured his first rental apartment with the help of a friend. From there, his situation improved as he obtained his residency permit, a document he had sought for a long time. Contracts were simpler back then, and he was able to establish his family’s roots. In 2013, eleven years after his journey, he finally obtained Spanish citizenship.

Rim Touri

Chef and Student

Rim Touri was born in Morocco and arrived in the Canary Islands in 2008. The 23-year-old was fortunate not to have risked her life crossing the sea on a raft, a common method for many Africans seeking to migrate. Rim and her family successfully brought much of Moroccan tradition, cuisine, and culture to Tenerife through their family business, the Hayaty restaurant – “my life” in Arabic. The fusion of Canary Islands and the city of Tangier, where the Touri family originates, is reflected in the decor of the restaurant, adorned with Moroccan craftsmanship, overlooking the Fishing Pier and the iconic Monument to the Fisherman.

The decision to move to the Canary Islands was made by her father, who lived in Barcelona for work and visited the Islands during a vacation. “He wanted to reunite the family and believed that Tenerife was the best place to do it,” says Rim. Meanwhile, as she completes her studies in Speech Therapy at the University of La Laguna (ULL), she assists her mother in the kitchen of her older brother Nassim’s restaurant. “My mother has taught me since I was little. I learn more every day and take care of specific dishes myself.”

While they have the right to apply for nationality for about six years, Rim explains that Moroccans must reside in Spain for ten years before they can do so. “In my case, I applied a year ago and I am still waiting,” she says. Although not particularly eager to obtain it, she looks forward to having Spanish nationality as it guarantees certain rights, such as the right to vote.

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