Perched in the mountains of the island of Anjouan, the village of Kangani, in the Comoros, is the last stop for thousands of African migrants trying to illegally reach the French department of Mayotte. But these days, the boats remain at the dock: France has announced a new turn of the screw against illegal immigration.
Kangani is only an arm of the sea and some 70 km from the 101st French department, 310,000 inhabitants (according to official figures probably largely underestimated) including 48% immigrants. The island, with its schools and hospitals, is an Eldorado for many Comorians, even if the territory is the poorest in France.
Families in search of a better life, as well as cigarettes and livestock, are usually loaded several times a day onto wooden boats traditionally used for fishing and called “kwassa-kwassa”. The entire economy of the village revolves around these hazardous crossings and exchanges are made in bundles of euro notes.
But for several weeks, residents angry at insecurity and illegal immigration have been erecting roadblocks in Mayotte, and Paris recently announced a controversial measure aimed at removing land rights on the island to stem the influx of migrants. . Since then, the winding streets of Kangani have fallen into a tense calm.
“The dams affect us all, there are no more kwassa-kwassa departures while waiting for a return to normal,” complains Chadhuli Tafsir, a young man in his thirties from Kangani. “The abolition of land rights is a bad idea for everyone,” he asserts, continuing a lively debate with the men gathered in the village square.
crashing motorcycles
Behind the modest brick houses of the town of some 6,000 people, young people ride back and forth on backfiring motorcycles. Some proudly wear bleached blonde hair and tattoos. “All these kids come from Mayotte and are waiting to try the passage again,” whispers a villager. Intercepted by the coast guard or returned by the French police, many deportees attempt the crossing again as soon as they return to Comorian soil.
Ousseni, a small, dry man aged around fifty, only gives his first name. The “fisherman-smuggler” charges between 400 and 500 euros per person per attempt to reach the opposite island. A small fortune in this poor archipelago of 870,000 inhabitants, where the average monthly salary is equivalent to around a hundred euros. According to him, the unrest in Mayotte and the debates around land law “are making him waste time and money”.
Until now, his biggest problem was “the Comorian coast guard, who extort at least 200 euros per crossing”. “Last time I was transporting a sick person, they stopped me from passing. I had to come back to dry land. The patient died shortly after,” he says without much qualms. Above all, he thinks about honoring his orders: “Some people from Mahor are waiting for the delivery of an ox for a wedding. It cost them 10,000 euros, which is a lot but still less than at home. »
You sometimes have to wait several days to attempt the crossing on mild seas. The boats capsize regularly and many migrants have disappeared at sea between the Comoros and France. Probably thousands, but there is no official number. “No one would take the risk of going to Mayotte, but we have no choice. Going to sea is our only option,” says Jeansi in a resigned tone, who is waiting for the next departure of a boat for France.