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| Africa: North |
| Europe’s Waiting Room: the Grapes of Wrath - Moroccan Style |
| 2004-01-13 |
| The forests near Rahrah [note: 11 miles from Sissboombah] are only about 30 kilometres from Spain and when the weather is clear, the European mainland can easily be seen from the top of a hill. Some 4,000 migrants have drowned in the past five years trying to get into Spain. The migrants pay between $500 and $1,500 to people traffickers, known as "samsara", to get to Europe. In some cases the price can be doubled with no guarantee of arriving alive. The forests in the north have now become a "waiting room" for some Africans to get to the "European Eldorado". But now the Moroccan security forces are cracking down on the migrants living in the shacks. Hundreds of them have been sent back to the Algerian border where they entered Morocco after trekking across the Sahara desert. Charles sports a beard and dreadlocks, and he had worked for seven years in Libya before he came to Morocco on a mission to cross the Straits of Gibraltar. After half an hour’s walk on a path wriggling along the slope of the mountain, a camp came into view. During the march we met several migrants on the way to the shop for some supplies. Several were relaxing on a piece of cardboard. Small tents were fixed between the trees. In the distance, a woman was cooking soup on an open fire, while others were talking loudly. Sounds like SF. "Have you visited the camp to see how we live like animals hunting for something to eat?" asks Richard, a young man from Nigeria. A guy named Richard might make a better EU citizen than some. Ask him whether his culture practices "honor killing." He alleged that the Moroccan security forces are very brutal, punching and kicking any migrants they catch. At times they also rape women during their operations to flush out illegal immigrants, he said. His claims are promptly supported by his colleagues who all have tales about their nasty experiences of the security forces. I guess they don’t have a policy comparable to "catch and release." "Look at my back," says one. "Honestly, I can’t understand why the Moroccan authorities treat us this way," says a Ghanaian who is desperate to cross to Europe. A: because the EU asked them to discourage your efforts. Priscilla, a teenager, is five months pregnant but refuses to leave the forests to consult a doctor because she is scared of being arrested. She only hopes that she will make it across the Straits of Gibraltar before she gives birth. Sounds as if her name should be Juanita living in TJ. If Spain needs cheap labor, maybe we could work out a swap. We could swap some Spanish speaking individuals for anyone not named after a varient of Mohamed. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #3 He alleged that the Moroccan security forces are very brutal, punching and kicking any migrants they catch. Kinda like the Mexican police when they catch Guatemalans crossing their border. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-1-13 10:26:41 PM |
| #2 Several were relaxing on a piece of cardboard. Small tents were fixed between the trees. In the distance, a woman was cooking soup on an open fire, while others were talking loudly. Sounds alot like Lemans 1969. |
| Posted by: John Wire 2004-1-13 8:52:33 PM |
| #1 doubled with no guarantee of arriving alive. How much for the arive-alive upgrade? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-13 5:25:19 PM |