Madrid: At a bustling square in Madrid’s multicultural Lavapies neighborhood, Baye Serigne, a 23-year-old undocumented immigrant from Senegal, broke his Ramadan fast with a few friends on a recent evening.
“It fills your stomach,” he said as he ate a yassa sandwich, a speciality made with marinated beef and onions after spending more than an hour on public transport to reach the square from the migrant shelter where he lives.
“Here it is a bit like my Dakar, where you can find ways to get by,” said Serigne, a mechanic by training who arrived in the Spanish capital in October and is spending his first Ramadan alone in Spain, far from his family.
During the month of Ramadan, which this year runs through March, observant Muslims do not eat between sunrise and sundown, breaking their fast with a meal known as iftar.
Since 2018 a group of Senegalese have distributed iftar meals in the square during Ramadan to anyone, whether they are Muslim or not.
Fewer than 30 people turned up in the early days, but on some nights this year the group hands out more than 400 sandwiches, said Aliou Badara Wagnan, one of the organizers of the meal distribution.
This year between 50 and 200 people gather in the square every evening for an iftar meal under the watchful eye of the police, he added.
“For those who have just arrived in Spain, it’s very complicated,” the 33-year-old said.
“They are staying in shelters, they don’t have enough to buy what they need or to cook. We are simply trying to make sure that everyone can eat.”
'Talk and laugh'
For many west African migrants without papers, the gathering is about more than just free food — it is a chance to exchange survival tips or to talk about the disappointments of their lives as undocumented immigrants.
“I try to come every day. It feels good to have a good time and forget about the problems. We talk and laugh with each other,” said Assana, a 23-year-old former fisherman from Saint-Louis, a coastal city in northern Senegal.
Like Serigne, Assana, who did not want to give his surname, is spending his first Ramadan far from his homeland. He scrapes by on the little more than 1,000 euros ($1,080) a month he earns doing odd jobs.
“The biggest problem is not the work, but the lack of papers,” Assana said.
Without permission to work, many young migrants like Assana — who cannot stay in their shelters during the day — wander aimlessly around Lavapies, with its narrow streets filled with Bangladeshi fruit shops and African restaurants.
“We do nothing all day. If someone gave me money to leave, I think I would,” said one migrant who declined to be named.
Pro-immigration stance
Most still hope to become legal residents.
All of the undocumented migrants interviewed by AFP in Lavapies, aged 18 to 30, risked their lives to reach Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic from Africa in precarious boats.
Last year a record 46,843 migrants illegally reached the archipelago off the northwestern coast of Africa, often the first port of call for people quitting the continent hoping for a better life in Europe.
Spain needs “more hands” to work, said Wagnan, who has lived in Spain for the past seven years where he says he has easily found work on building sites.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez seems to agree.
Unlike the bulk of his counterparts in Europe, the Socialist premier argues immigration is needed to fill workforce gaps and counteract an aging population that could imperil pensions and the welfare state.
Spain’s economy expanded by 3.2 percent in 2024, far outperforming its eurozone peers due to a booming tourism sector and a rising population as a result of immigration.