When Fatima Zahra heard the rumour of a rare border opening between Morocco and Spain, she joined thousands in rushing to attempt a perilous journey into the Ceuta enclave by land or sea.
AFP images showed people swimming around Ceuta’s frontier fence and others clambering over barbed wire to reach European soil, as Moroccan riot police fired tear gas and water cannons at crowds after an apparent breakdown of border controls.
Ceuta, a Spanish territory of 18.5 square kilometres (seven square miles) in north Africa, and similar enclave Melilla, have Europe’s only two land borders with its southern neighbouring continent.
Zahra was eventually turned away at the Moroccan border town of Fnideq, but Ceuta’s regional president said some 60,000 people have successfully entered the tiny territory of just 80,000 residents.
READ MORE: Spain says 60,000 migrants stormed Ceuta but 25,000 have returned to Morocco
“I was in Tangier, where I was working. I woke up in the morning and heard that Ceuta had opened,” Zahra told AFP.
“At that point, I told the people with me let’s go there for work… let’s try our luck too,” she added, saying she wanted to leave for Europe because she works “under appalling conditions”.
The square near Fnideq from which many had set out the day before was a scene of ruin on Friday after the clashes, with more than a dozen cars burned out and rocks littering the ground as officers tried to push hopeful migrants back.
READ ALSO: What happens to undocumented migrants after they arrive in Spain?
Ceuta’s regional president said at least 34 people have lost their lives in the treacherous dash into the territory.
Footage of the border chaos has sparked a crisis for Spain’s left-wing government.
Madrid has sent troops to boost security, while France announced tighter checks on its border with Spain and Italy called for the country to be suspended from Europe’s open-borders Schengen zone.
But for locals, the chance of a better life in Europe was worth the risk, even in the perilous currents of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Karim, another would-be migrant turned back, said news of some successful crossings emboldened many to make their own attempt.
“Suddenly they heard that the borders were open and that some young people had crossed, so everyone ended up here,” he said.
‘Bye Bye Morocco’
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the enclave on Friday after the largest inflow of people into the autonomous city since May 2021.
Sánchez said the sudden influx of migrants to the north African enclave Ceuta was caused by trafficking mafia spreading rumours about a recent court ruling on immigration.
READ ALSO: Why did Morocco open the border for migrants at Spain’s Ceuta enclave?
A Spanish Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that immediate returns of migrants crossing the border illegally did not apply to those arriving by sea.
“What has emerged from our talks with Moroccan authorities is that trafficking mafias took a self-serving interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling,” he said. That interpretation “spread like wildfire in recent hours.”
Yet the images of ebullient arrivals to Spain, a portion of them minors and some wearing only swimsuits and flip-flops, have already spread far and wide, threatening a rupture in relations with Rabat.
While Spanish police in Ceuta appeared to do little to intervene, some jubilant migrants walked through its streets, calling out: “Bye bye Morocco, hello Spain.”
Local Spanish television station El Faro broadcast footage showing young people, including a 14-year-old girl, making the “V” sign for victory sign after crossing into the European nation.
At dawn, the Moroccan police response became heavier as dozens of officers used water cannons and tear gas to push back those trying to leave Morocco, with some elderly women escorted from the scene of the clashes.
Members of the crowd responded by throwing stones and using slingshots, according to an AFP journalist.
Fires engulfed dozens of cars, including informal taxis in which some had arrived the previous day.
Some had made long journeys from cities as far away as Marrakesh and Kenitra after hearing of a chance to reach European soil.
Abdelhakim, also turned back from the Spanish territory, said he walked 14 kilometres “through the mountains” to reach the Morocco-Spain border, which he also believed was open.
“Once we got here, we were told to cross by sea. I found myself completely submerged and saw two men die right before my eyes,” he said.
“That’s when I backed away and remembered that I have two children of my own, and that I couldn’t risk my life.”
Article by Hicham Rafih
