Spain: A Change in Fortunes for African Migrants

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/25/world/europe/spain-a-change-in-fortunes-for-african-migrants.html

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About 35 African migrants, including at least one rescued at sea from an overcrowded boat years ago, are among the top prize winners of Spain’s Christmas lottery, according to the owner of the lottery agency that sold more than 1,000 tickets worth 400,000 euros each, or about $438,000. The winners who bought the tickets in the southern coastal city of Roquetas de Mar included migrants from Senegal, Mali and Morocco, the agency’s owner, José Martín, told the newspaper La Voz de Almeria in a story published Thursday. Among them was a Senegalese man who gave only his first name, Ngame, who told Spanish media that he and his wife were rescued by Spain’s coast guard in 2007 when their boat with about 65 people aboard was traveling from Africa’s western coast toward Spain’s Canary Islands. Roquetas de Mar is in Almeria Province, where many migrants toil in vegetable and fruit greenhouses as laborers.