The original uploader was Jguk 2 at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves in the north of Africa, are critical destinations for African migrants seeking refuge from deteriorating political and economic circumstances usually from the sub-Saharan region. To reach these territories, migrants must journey across Morocco in hopes of finding safety within European borders.
From January to September 2024, Moroccan security forces halted over 45,000 attempts from migrants trying to swim around or climb over barbed-wire fences to cross the border from Morocco into Ceuta.
This number has reached new heights in 2024, as more Moroccans join the ranks of Algerians and sub-Saharans at the border. The influx of migrants at the crossing has been on the rise since 2021, when a diplomatic crisis ensued between Spain and Morocco after Spain harbored Moroccan enemy Brahim Ghali in the country for medical treatment. Ghali is the leader of the Polisario Front, an organization dedicated to the independence of the Western Sahara from Moroccan occupation. The Western Sahara is an area of diplomatic tension between Morocco and Spain, since it was under Spanish rule from the 17th century until 1975, when it was annexed by Morocco. During the crisis, Moroccan guards reportedly stood by and watched migrants attempt to reach Spain by sea, and thus allowed 8,000 individuals to pass into Ceuta in May of 2021. In a situation that requires “tight cooperation” between the two states to mitigate migrant flow, Morocco’s ability to hinder Spain’s border control efforts by weakening their personal security is evident.
The diplomatic feud lasted about a year and did not manifest in any other serious repercussions. The two governments jointly announced a new path forward in 2022 with Spanish approval of Morocco’s new autonomy plan for the Western Sahara, and the two resumed diplomatic cooperation. Since then, Morocco has stood fast in regulating border control along with Ceuta forces; however, that has not been enough to keep the number of border-crossing attempts low.
As of September 2024, there has been unprecedented organization among migrants to storm the border between Morocco and Ceuta en masse by coordinating efforts on social media. An invitation went out for September 15, after messages circulated on social media calling for people to rally at the border for a mass migration attempt. Footage of the rallying was posted by local networks, showing “groups of people in the hills around the border… and a heightened Moroccan security presence, including helicopters.” Sixty people were arrested for inciting this mass migration attempt online, yet almost immediately a second organized attempt was circulating the internet for September 30. Despite its media coverage, this is not the first time an anonymous organizer used social media to broadcast an invitation for a group migration attempt, according to ABC News. However, this may be the first campaign that was not disseminated while still in its online stage. Although the attempt only resulted in some border-breaches, it did successfully make it off the internet into tangible form. Morocco and Spain brought the situation under control and no one “successfully made it into Spain” long-term, but this may be the first sign of a worsening situation along the border of Ceuta and Morocco. Scores of military personnel were deployed to the area after the first planned group attempt on the 15 of September, and security has tightened along the entire border—covering both land and sea checkpoints.
In addition, there is strong encouragement from families, pushing their children to make the crossing. All those attempting to reach Ceuta are doing so in hopes that they can, from there, reach Europe and have access to better opportunities. Families have accounts of migrants who have successfully reached Europe and built a life abroad, passing on the hope of similar success to their children. This results in a disproportionately high number of children participating in the border-crossing attempts, being 150 since September 11.
The social and economic benefits of crossing the border outweigh the risk of arrest or return, and if returned, there will always be additional opportunities to breach the border. Moroccans, sub-Saharan Africans, Algerians, and other migrant communities live their lives in the border towns in the region, waiting for the opportunity to cross into Ceuta. These communities have abandoned hope of establishing roots in their homeland, and are being denied the possibility of a future in Europe.
Unless these circumstances change, there will likely be more organized mass migration attempts and other creative plans that will enable Africans to enter Ceuta. As the number of migrants increases, however, so will the number of security personnel, and tensions between the two forces may worsen in the region as the situation continues to escalate. The migrants appear resolute on this course of action, while Spain and Morocco are set on stopping any such efforts.
Comentários