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IMMIGRANT

Hundreds of Africans make dash for Spain

Hundreds of migrants stormed the frontier from Morocco onto Spanish soil on Tuesday by land and sea, clashing with police in one raid that left seven people injured, officials said.

Published: 18 September 2013 09:17 CEST
Hundreds of Africans make dash for Spain
Image grab from September 17, 2013 shows immigrants breaking through a border fence from Morocco into Spanish territory. Photo: Guardia Civil/AFPMigrants break through Morocco border into Spain

They were the latest in a wave of thousands of impoverished migrants trying to reach Spain, with officials saying their numbers have swelled in recent years due to unrest in northern Africa.

Before dawn, about 300 migrants tore down part of the six-metre (20-foot) high fence around Melilla, a Spanish-governed territory bordering northern Morocco and about 100 made it through, Spanish government officials there said in a statement.

"The raiders managed to pull down completely the border fence and entered violently, throwing objects at the security forces who tried to repel the assault," the statement said.

In a separate incident, another 350 people, described as migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, tried to reach Spain's other north African territory, Ceuta, by swimming to one of its beaches from a nearby Moroccan shore.

Of those, 91 made it, authorities said. A spokesman for the local Spanish government delegation said it was "the biggest assault on Ceuta since 2007."

He estimated about 700 more migrants were waiting near the border in Morocco hoping to cross to Ceuta.

Authorities said those who got into Melilla and Ceuta would be housed in crowded immigrant reception centres.

Officials said the one in Melilla is filled close to double its capacity of 480 people and the one in Ceuta is currently holding 750 people when it was built for about 500.

The governor of Melilla, Abdelmalik El Barkani, told reporters later that 40 metres (44 yards) of fence were destroyed in Tuesday's attempt.

Six Spanish civil guards there were injured as well as one migrant who was taken to hospital, believed to have broken his leg when he fell from the fence, the statement added.

Each home to around 80,000 people, Melilla and Ceuta have the European Union's only two land borders with Africa.

El Barkani has said that fighting in northern Africa and a crackdown on migration to the Spanish Canary Islands in the Atlantic have driven greater numbers of migrants to Melilla and Ceuta.

Human rights groups say the migrants are brought to Morocco from other African countries by traffickers and camp in the wild waiting for a chance to cross.

Others try to reach Spanish soil by sailing across the Mediterranean in makeshift vessels. On Monday officials said one migrant was found dead and a dozen were missing after their boat capsized in the attempt.

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IMMIGRATION

FOCUS: What will Spain’s Ceuta enclave do about its ‘lost boy’ migrants

Days after up to 10,000 people surged across the Moroccan border into Spain's Ceuta enclave, many hundreds are still here, mostly minors, posing a quandary for the tiny territory.

Published: 22 May 2021 17:13 CEST
FOCUS: What will Spain's Ceuta enclave do about its 'lost boy' migrants
Moroccan migrants help an African who has got into trouble attempting to swim to Ceuta on Wednesday. Photo: Fadel Senna/ AFP

We can’t yet say how many people entered Ceuta — we estimate between 8,000 and 10,000, and it seems 6,600 have returned to Morocco,” Mabel Deu, one of the city’s deputy leaders, told reporters on Friday.

Most of the migrants swam, but some came in inflatable boats, with Spanish government officials saying 1,500 of them were under 18. That figure has not been confirmed by the city.

“We don’t know how many minors came in,” Deu said. By Friday, Ceuta had 438 children and teenagers in its care at two ocations and was preparing a third, she said, acknowledging there were still “a good few hundred people wandering around the city”.

Those at the centres are registered, fed and clothed and given a place to stay after being tested for Covid-19. But many others are sleeping rough in parks or doorways, penniless and hungry.

Some came alone, while others crossed the border with friends or older siblings. Most are boys, either teenagers or in their early 20s.

“They told us they came to visit or that they were coming to see a football match with Ronaldo,” Deu said, accusing the Moroccan authorities of “manipulative tricks” to encourage the huge wave of arrivals.

‘We can’t cope’

Earlier this week, Ceuta officials admitted they were completely overwhelmed, appealing for a show of solidarity from Spain’s 17 regions.

“We cannot cope, there are too many children,” Carlos Rontome, another of the city’s deputy leaders, told Spanish national radio. “We are the frontier, we’re the breakwater, but we have limited capacities. We’re a small city of 19 square kilometres (seven square miles)… so it’s very difficult to absorb all these people. The only solution is to distribute them among the other regions.”

This week, Spain’s regions agreed to take in 200 unaccompanied minors who were already in Ceuta to free up space for the new arrivals.

“The problem cannot fall on (Ceuta’s) shoulders alone… The whole country must tackle the problem while taking into account the best interests of the
minor,” said Social Justice Minister Ione Belarra.

Save the Children said the proposal could ensure the youngsters were better cared for. “We believe that this measure could serve to alleviate the immediate pressure on Ceuta’s protection system while offering better care to these children,” Carmela del Moral, the NGO’s head of child policies, told AFP.

READ ALSO:

  1. Seventy more migrants cross border fence into Spain’s Melilla enclave
  2. 6,000 migrants swim across to Spain’s Ceuta in record crossing
  3. What happens to the thousands of undocumented migrants after they arrive in Spain?

‘I dream of being a cleaner’

NGOs say they’ve been overwhelmed by the scale of need in Ceuta. “If we continue at this pace, it’s impossible: no NGO, nor the Spanish state nor any European state could cope with this amount of people,” said Abdesalam Mohammed Hussein, head of local NGO Alas Protectoras.

“We provide food and warm clothes, but we can’t reach everyone because there are just too many.”

An Arabic speaker, he says some youngsters said they went to the centres but found they “were full”, while others didn’t even know where they were.

Many say their parents have no idea where they are. “My mum must be very worried by now, because I was the only person earning so we could eat,” 16-year-old Omar Luriaghri told AFP.

But he can’t call her because she doesn’t have a phone. “Frankly my dream is to work here as a cleaner,” he said.

Hotline for lost children

For now, Ceuta is focusing on tracing the parents. On Thursday, it opened a hotline for worried families which was swamped with “more than 4,400 calls” in the first 24 hours.

“Our teams are working morning, noon and night to find the families and ensure the child’s immediate return, because that’s what the parents and the
children want,” Deu said. “Many have been crying and wanting to go home since the first day.”

For some on the streets, desperation is taking hold, with Spanish police on Friday having to revive a young Moroccan who tried to hang himself with a
metal cable along the promenade.

“Sending children back is not legal and must not be tolerated,” said Ricardo Ibarra, head of the Children’s Platform, which groups 67 child rights NGOs, raising concerns about possible pushbacks — informal cross-border expulsions without due process.

But an interior ministry spokesman insisted all returns were being carried out “through legally-established channels” and said they did not have a breakdown of returnees by age group.

Social rights lawyer Albert Pares Casanova said each minor’s case must be examined individually “to see whether it’s best to return them to their families or (for them to) stay in Spain”.

It is Spain’s government “that ultimately decides whether they have to return or can stay here,” he told AFP.

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