Refugees Flood Spain's Canary Islands

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This article found on Sail-World.com, paints a picture of the Canary Islands that is heart breaking. Right now thousands and thousands of refugees are pouring into the Canary Islands. Most of the refugees are from Senegal, Gambia, Mali and Mauritania, where they have no means of supporting their families. Some have endured terrible tribal conflicts. They have nothing. According to this article, 24,000 have arrived to date, but one in six die.

I wanted to know more, so I went to:
the NPR to see what they knew about this situation. Apparently the situation is causing problems for the Spanish President, as his opponents caused the current influx of immigrants because of an amnesty he granted illegal immigrants in Spain last year.

Spain wants the EU to help them police their vulnerable border around the Canary Islands, and Europe wants the immigrants sent back where they came from. Senegal has agreed to take some of the mostly young men back, even without documentation. Most shred their documents because of a loophole in Spanish law that says they cannot deport a person if they cannot determine which country he came from.