David Sharrock in Zahara de los Atunes, Spain
The rich, beautiful and powerful of Spanish society have chosen this wild corner of the Costa de la Luz, on the Atlantic side of the Rock of Gibraltar, as this summer’s place to see and be seen. But by night the beaches play host to a desperate drama as hundreds of poor Moroccans try to reach Europe, often drowning in the attempt.
The worst incident in Spain’s summer season of human traffic – when the Straits of Gibraltar are at their calmest and the 20km crossing can be risked in fragile boats known as pateras – came in July, when 38EMoroccans drowned.
Outrage erupted when the tragedy was found to have occurred 10 days before it was first reported. The bodies had floated in the open seas before washing up on the Moroccan coastline.
The straits are one of the world’s busiest sea routes and yet no one had noticed. The Spanish authorities said they had not intervened because the drownings had happened in Moroccan waters; this in spite of the proximity of Melilla, one of two Spanish territorial enclaves on the North African coast.
A Melillan businessman who went to the aid of the Moroccan navy in his motor boat said that the bodies were so bloated it was almost impossible to pull them out of the sea. Each of the victims would have paid about $1 000 to risk a journey that for many Moroccans represents a lifetime’s ambition – to reach the eldorado they watch daily on the Spanish television channels that can be received in their country.
The Spanish government has launched an inquiry. While the results are awaited, Melilla and Ceuta, the other North African enclave, are becoming fortresses. Double-wire fences, searchlights and observation turrets will make the crossing from Moroccan into Spanish territory “impassable” by October, local representatives say.
In the meantime the flow of illegal human traffic into the enclaves continues, though at a reduced rate. In the first 10 days of August, more than 600 people were rounded up in Ceuta. Moroccans are sent back immediately.
“While the socio-economic causes of emigration persist, no barrier will prevent the epidemic,” a Moroccan government source said. “The financial and security effort being put into sealing the border with Melilla and Ceuta is a waste of money.”
Other would-be migrants, including Algerians and sub-Saharan Africans, are “parked” in a former youth camp, where they live for months under canvas waiting to hear if they meet the criteria for admission into Europe.
Human traffic across the straits is big business. A recent Spanish report revealed a network of routes out of sub-Saharan Africa and along the North African coast.
A journey to the “promised land” from Senegal, Cameroon or Nigeria, via Morocco and a precarious seat in an open boat across the straits, costs about $2 300. Tangier, Ujda and Nador are, according to the Guardia Civil, the main points of departure, although there are at least 24 known sites along the Moroccan coast.
But it is from Morocco itself, Spain’s nearest African neighbour, that the greatest number of aspirant migrants spring. According to market research published by the Moroccan independent weekly newspaper Le Journal, four out of five Moroccans want to cross the straits.
The police intercept, at best, some 15% of the traffic. Just how many drown, or are conned and deposited further along the Moroccan coast, is unknown. The poorer migrants attempt to reach Spain by hiding in fishing boats or in lorries – often with deadly consequences.
At Casablanca’s port, security has been increased after lorry drivers refused to enter the harbour, such was the risk of discovering a corpse trapped inside the vehicle’s container. The bodies of several suffocated children were found in a boat’s hold a few weeks ago.
The vast majority of migrants who cross the straits successfully head for France and Germany, but the steady increase in the flow has meant more are staying in Spain. The number of Africans among Spain’s official foreign residents has risen, from 2,5% in 1980 to 18,3% two years ago. The true figure is undoubtedly much higher.
Shunned in the southern coastal resorts, barred from restaurants and nightclubs and beaten up if they dare to use the beaches, Moroccans have built their own “shebeens”, where the prices are more on a par with their meagre earnings.
Racially motivated attacks are on the rise in Spain. But no one complains. Life is much sweeter than it was just 10km across the straits.
August
Link to the day
28 21 14 07
28