Lilia Bellahcen, Grade 12
UWC Costa Rica
On June 24, more than 1,500 immigrants from Chad, Mali, Sudan and more tried to cross the shared border between Morocco and Spain's enclave, Melilla. This attempt led to what could be described as a tragedy. Twenty-three African migrants and two police were reported by the Moroccan authorities as dead, against a migrant death toll of thirty-seven by the local Non-Governmental Organization (Hedgecoe, 2022). Over the years many attempts were made to cross the only land border between Africa and Europe, however, this one counted the highest number of deaths (AfricaNews, 2022).
The head of the African Union Commission, Chad’s Moussa Faki Mahamat, requested an investigation into this incident (AfricaNews, 2022). Meanwhile, dead migrants were to be buried when their bodies have not even been identified or undergone an autopsy yet (Hedgecoe, 2022).
This event questions the right of refugees to apply for asylum on European soil, violates human rights and dehumanizes the victims of the massacre by giving them violent and degrading treatment, according to Chad’s Moussa Faki Mahamat (AfricaNews, 2022).
Hundreds of thousands of people leave their homeland every year to escape poverty, find employment opportunities, flee violence on citizens or even escape war and find refuge in other countries. For decades, Morocco has been receiving a constantly increasing number of refugees, up to 20,000 before the end of the year of 2023 (Atalayar, 2022). More often, these migrants try to reach Europe by all means seeking a better life. This led more than once to the death of several of them. For example, in 2014, fifteen migrants drowned attempting to reach Ceuta by swimming around a seawall from Morocco (Staff, 2022).
Judith Sunderland, acting deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, affirmed that “Video and photographs show bodies strewn on the ground in pools of blood, Moroccan security forces kicking and beating people, and Spanish Guardia Civil launching teargas at men clinging to fences,” (Human Rights Watch, 2022). I am shocked at such cold-blooded actions while law enforcement should inspire safety. Instead, murder and violence are done to human-beings like you and I. I am not suggesting that they should have let them pass, only that there are many ways, that do not involve violence, to handle a situation.
Even if I find the way Moroccan and Spanish authorities handled this invasion highly unethical and out of limits, I also think that European countries outsourcing border control to neighboring countries like Morocco and others put them in a position where they shouldn’t be. Now that the harm is done, an investigation should be done to give justice to the victims and their families.
However, I think Morocco shouldn’t be stopping people from leaving its territory, but more certainly needs to review its agreements with European countries and make them face their responsibilities.
Citations:
AfricaNews. (2022, June 28). Morocco: AU and UN call for investigation into Melilla Tragedy. Africanews. Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://www.africanews.com/2022/06/28/morocco-au-and-un-call-for-investigation-into-melilla-tragedy//
AfricaNews. (2022, June 28). Spain blames Melila Death incident on human traffickers. Africanews. Retrieved July 23, 2022, from https://www.africanews.com/2022/06/28/spain-blames-melila-death-incident-on-human-traffickers//
Hedgecoe, G. (2022, June 27). Melilla migrant deaths spark anger in Spain. BBC News. Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61956104
Morocco/Spain: Horrific migrant deaths at Melilla border. Human Rights Watch. (2022, June 29). Retrieved July 23, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/29/morocco/spain-horrific-migrant-deaths-melilla-border
The number of refugees in Morocco is on the increase. Atalayar. (2022, May 3). Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://atalayar.com/en/content/number-refugees-morocco-increase
Staff, R. (2022, June 25). Timeline: Spain and Morocco's rocky diplomatic relations. Reuters. Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-spain-melilla-timelin-idAFKBN2O60HQ
The head of the African Union Commission, Chad’s Moussa Faki Mahamat, requested an investigation into this incident (AfricaNews, 2022). Meanwhile, dead migrants were to be buried when their bodies have not even been identified or undergone an autopsy yet (Hedgecoe, 2022).
This event questions the right of refugees to apply for asylum on European soil, violates human rights and dehumanizes the victims of the massacre by giving them violent and degrading treatment, according to Chad’s Moussa Faki Mahamat (AfricaNews, 2022).
Hundreds of thousands of people leave their homeland every year to escape poverty, find employment opportunities, flee violence on citizens or even escape war and find refuge in other countries. For decades, Morocco has been receiving a constantly increasing number of refugees, up to 20,000 before the end of the year of 2023 (Atalayar, 2022). More often, these migrants try to reach Europe by all means seeking a better life. This led more than once to the death of several of them. For example, in 2014, fifteen migrants drowned attempting to reach Ceuta by swimming around a seawall from Morocco (Staff, 2022).
Judith Sunderland, acting deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, affirmed that “Video and photographs show bodies strewn on the ground in pools of blood, Moroccan security forces kicking and beating people, and Spanish Guardia Civil launching teargas at men clinging to fences,” (Human Rights Watch, 2022). I am shocked at such cold-blooded actions while law enforcement should inspire safety. Instead, murder and violence are done to human-beings like you and I. I am not suggesting that they should have let them pass, only that there are many ways, that do not involve violence, to handle a situation.
Even if I find the way Moroccan and Spanish authorities handled this invasion highly unethical and out of limits, I also think that European countries outsourcing border control to neighboring countries like Morocco and others put them in a position where they shouldn’t be. Now that the harm is done, an investigation should be done to give justice to the victims and their families.
However, I think Morocco shouldn’t be stopping people from leaving its territory, but more certainly needs to review its agreements with European countries and make them face their responsibilities.
Citations:
AfricaNews. (2022, June 28). Morocco: AU and UN call for investigation into Melilla Tragedy. Africanews. Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://www.africanews.com/2022/06/28/morocco-au-and-un-call-for-investigation-into-melilla-tragedy//
AfricaNews. (2022, June 28). Spain blames Melila Death incident on human traffickers. Africanews. Retrieved July 23, 2022, from https://www.africanews.com/2022/06/28/spain-blames-melila-death-incident-on-human-traffickers//
Hedgecoe, G. (2022, June 27). Melilla migrant deaths spark anger in Spain. BBC News. Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61956104
Morocco/Spain: Horrific migrant deaths at Melilla border. Human Rights Watch. (2022, June 29). Retrieved July 23, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/29/morocco/spain-horrific-migrant-deaths-melilla-border
The number of refugees in Morocco is on the increase. Atalayar. (2022, May 3). Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://atalayar.com/en/content/number-refugees-morocco-increase
Staff, R. (2022, June 25). Timeline: Spain and Morocco's rocky diplomatic relations. Reuters. Retrieved July 22, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-spain-melilla-timelin-idAFKBN2O60HQ
www.unitedworldwide.co