The Walls of the World, our summer series, takes us today to one of the only two common land borders between Africa and Europe. In Melilla, a Spanish enclave located in the northeast of Morocco, a huge wall was built to stop illegal immigration. But that does not prevent attempts which often end in tragedy. Our correspondent in Morocco, Victor Mauriat, returning from Nador, tells us the story of this wall
On June 24, 2022, more than 2,000 migrants, mainly Sudanese, attempted to cross the Barrio Chino border post, which separates the cities of Nador and Melilla. The repression by the Spanish and Moroccan police lasted several hours, and only 200 of them managed to cross into Spain. For its part, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights counts at least 27 dead and 70 missing.
For migrant defense associations, this drama symbolizes all the cruelty of the wall that is rising between Europe and Africa. Franck Lyanga is the general secretary of the Organization of Immigrant Workers in Morocco:
A wall is made to block the way for migrants to cross. For the migrant who is looking for a better life, this is a very important difficulty, because he is always trying to get to the other side. Reason why there were assaults. I believe that if there was a simple passage, but controlled and monitored in another way, there would not be these events. Because the wall exists, it is a barrier for migrants, it really poses serious problems for their situations.”
Over the years, border surveillance has been strengthened by the Moroccan authorities. Today, explains Amine, for many candidates for exile, going overland is no longer an option:
“ We can’t go through the wall. There are soldiers, cameras, radars, it’s impossible… In addition, if they catch you, the first time, they let you go, but the second time, you risk prison.”
Like Amine, Osama swam to Melilla a few weeks ago, risking their lives: “ I spent seven hours in the water. It was very difficult, and once we arrived in Spanish waters, we found ourselves near a port. There are a lot of boats passing by, so we didn’t know when they were going to pass. So we were very afraid of coming face to face with a liner… I saw young people go through there and get killed. »
But this wall, which on June 24, 2022 became the deadliest border in Europe, was not always this impassable wall. Maïté Charté was born in Melilla. She has been caring for young migrants in difficulty for more than 20 years. She now runs the Mecs de la rue association in the Spanish enclave:
“ In the beginning, and until they started building the wall, in 1998-2000, there was no separation between Morocco and Spain, or between Melilla and Nador. People entered and exited the border by simply showing their ID cards, and they let them pass without any problem. And then, in the countryside, there was a small barbed wire fence that measured no more than half a meter and you could enter. The people of Melilla passed into the countryside of Nador, or the people of the countryside of Nador entered Melilla. The relationship was different… We wouldn’t have said two different countries but a territory, and people who lived in this territory. »
Since then, things have changed a lot. The wall now reaches 12 meters in height, and a wide ditch has been dug along the 10-kilometer border. And the new Spanish generation no longer envisages a life without this imposing separation. José Palazon, founder of the child protection NGO Prodein, explains:
“The people of Melilla, of course, think that it is a protection because they think that this way, foreigners will not come. African immigration, Syrian immigration, and immigration in general, African or from the eastern part, are considered here as a kind of invasion. Politicians and the press are selling us this like they want to invade us, they want to come and steal from us. The Moroccan claim to Melilla and Ceuta also has a very important consequence on the subject. The wall serves to contain this very strong Moroccan desire to invade the city. And this is seen as a danger.”
Since the diplomatic rapprochement between Morocco and Spain in April 2022, no massive attempt to cross the wall has been recorded. On the Moroccan side, migrants are now kept away from the Melilla wall.
