Chapter 3: The Call Home
Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain (October 16, 2022) - A man from Senegal turns away from the camera at the door of his home near strawberry farms, where he does seasonal work. He asked not to be identified, because he did not want his family to know he lived in difficult conditions. Ricci Shryock for NPR hide caption
Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain (October 16, 2022) - A man from Senegal turns away from the camera at the door of his home near strawberry farms, where he does seasonal work. He asked not to be identified, because he did not want his family to know he lived in difficult conditions.
Ricci Shryock for NPRFor many African migrants who set out on long and dangerous journeys to Europe, the end point is Huelva province in southwestern Spain. Here, strawberry fields spread for miles and miles and jobs are plentiful. Each year, thousands of seasonal workers cultivate the soil, plant seedlings, water and fertilize and harvest the crops.
In Huelva, workers from sub-Saharan Africa often live in dense settlements of semi-permanent structures without electricity or running water. And many are haunted by the question of when—or whether—they'll finally receive the documentation they need to travel home and see their families.
In the final installment of our Climate Migration series, All Things Considered co-host Ari Shapiro and his team travel to Huelva and end their trip in Madrid, where they meet a Spanish politician who was once a migrant without papers himself.
Ari tells Rachel stories of people who've made it to Spain but long for a sense of home while struggling for a foothold in a new country.
This is the third episode of our series focused on Ari's reporting. You can listen to Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 in the Up First feed.