At the Canary Islands in Spain, Holiday Club Puerto Calma was one of the many hotels that the Spanish government-contracted during COVID-19 to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants who fled the humanitarian crisis in Africa. By doing this, the hotels helped the government to accommodate an influx of migrants and, at the same time, found a way to pay their employees during COVID-19, a time when tourism in the area plummeted. Although living temporarily in these hotels was far from vacation for the migrants due to a lack of legal identity, permission to work or travel and certainty for the future, these shelters provided a safe place to sleep.

 However, when the contracts ended in February 2021, many hotels closed their doors. The migrants were then transferred to newly built migrant camps. Reasons such as the fear of living in overcrowded conditions forced many migrants to return to their countries. On the other hand, some migrants were expelled from the system for various reasons and had no place to stay. To alleviate the living situation for the migrants, the couple, Mr. Calvin Lucock and Mrs. Unn Tove Saetran, who own Holiday Club Puerto Calma, decided to open the door again at their own expense. Assisted by some hotel staff and volunteers, they provide food through Saetran’s restaurant. Currently, they are caring for 58 young men. These young migrants are mainly from Morocco, Senegal, and other West African countries.

 Lucock and Saetran hope to continue to help young migrants even after tourism returns to normal. They are currently setting up a charity.

To learn more about Holiday Club Puerto Calma and the migrant crisis in Spain, visit: https://apnews.com/article/travel-canary-islands-coronavirus-pandemic-africa-migration-9abce961ee50ef83dbd5a72577c0ec20 and https://www.npr.org/2021/03/26/974007502/in-canary-islands-tensions-are-high-over-african-migration