At 10 a.m. on a weekday, the beach in Pointe Sarène, Senegal, is unnaturally quiet, with just a few fishermen out working. There’s rarely a good catch these days, points out Ababacar Mbaye, a father of five. For years, fishermen have complained of depleted stocks due to overfishing, in part by foreign trawlers. Many of the fish are bound for Europe. And so, too, are thousands of migrants setting out for Spain’s Canary Islands. Some 20,000 migrants have arrived this year alone, as the pandemic deals financial blows to already struggling areas. Why We Wrote This Messages to deter would-be migrants emphasize the danger of the journey. But as the pandemic’s economic fallout intensifies, thousands are willing to risk it. Sometimes more than once.