Omar went out. Chad while still young. He was 15 years old and an orphan. “Ever since we’ve grown we’ve known war. There is nothing in my country”. He lived with his uncle, although they lived poorly due to lack of funds. His country was hell: Omar was free from war, rebels and sectarian conflicts. There was no work and no hope. “I had to leave my house,” she recalls. inside that adventure try to reach Europe He has suffered from forced labor camps in Libya, exiles in the desert, and a dozen attempts to enter Melilla. The latest is that at least 23 migrants died at the Spanish crossing last Friday.
When Omar was still young, he crossed his first border to the north. “Inside Libya they caught me mafias who traffic. They asked me for money. If your parents don’t send you, they’ll make you work until you die. I had no one to help me, I am from a poor family and I have no family. I took advantage of an opportunity to escape when I was in Misrata (northern Libya),” says Omar.
explains that he succeeded Niger and then Algeria. He worked for a year in the North African country. “Every time they caught us, they sent us to Niger. It was worse in Algeria because you didn’t have the right to go out, they arrested you and left you in the desert. I had to cross the street. MoroccoHe came in at 19. “I’ve been in this country for three years and slept in a house for maybe three months. Life here is also very difficult and we had to leave. nador try to pass melilla“.
eleven attempts
Omar Tried to reach the autonomous city 11 times, as he explains, swims eight and jumps three fences. He pulls up the sleeve of his purple sweater to show his right arm, two scars from one of his attempts to cross the border. “When we came to Nador a year ago, the police were there. They beat us and arrested us. Then they put us in jail, there were about 150 people, we slept on the floor and it was very dirty. four times in this prison“. After being beaten in this prison near the city and staying there for a few days, transferred them to buses to the desert or the interior of the country.
This young man lived a few kilometers from the fence, in one of the camps in the forest and mountains. He explains that the day before the jump attempt last Friday, Moroccan police carried out an attack. spoil where have you been. “We were away from Nador to rest and eat, the police came and attacked us. They dispersed us and arrested many of us. If we had waited one more day, they would have come back and arrested us all. Maybe some of us would have been deported to our country or sent to Algeria,” he says.
“We never attack the gendarmerie”
The day of the jump attempt began with the sunrise. Hundreds of immigrants, descending from the mountains, rushed towards the Barrio Chino border crossing, saying, “The police were already ready when we arrived in front of the fence because they saw us coming from afar.” “We we never attack a gendarmeThey represent the country and we are not against them. We carry sticks to scare and let’s move on,” explains the 22-year-old. He explains that at that moment the agents were on their way. tear gas and some began to climb the fence.
Omer says He succeeded in stepping on Spanish soilbut when he manages to run about 20 meters, The Civil Guard captured him and returned him to Morocco.. He says agents threw him out. pepper spray and couldn’t see anything. “I was very upset that they sent me back. Spain is responsible for what happened, they are complicit like Morocco. We are human and they don’t treat us that way. We are looking for our future.” he says angrily.
After spending a few moments on Spanish soil, Omar explains that the Spanish police sent him back to the other side of the fence. “The Moroccan police were waiting for us at the door.” “Saved my life because they gave me back once, I pretended to be dead or lost consciousness. If it wasn’t for him, he would have died. “I saw many people being beaten around me,” he says.
drowning deaths
Mohamed, a 16-year-old Chadian, also made an attempt to jump. He explains why some of those on the fence died. suffocation. We couldn’t breathe because of pepper spray. we take hitsHe says he touched Spanish soil too, but they took it back. “They beat us when we got back to Morocco,” this boy complains. He fled the war and left his country a little over a year ago. lose your parents. Now he is waiting for a while in Morocco. chance to leave the mainland.
According to Moroccan authorities, 23 people died from drowning or falling from a fence. Humanitarian organizations claim that at least 37 people have died. According to the Center for the Advocacy of Human Rights IRIDIA, hot returnsbut they have not yet been quantified.
These two teenagers describe how the police picked them up and put them on the bus while they were lying on the ground. According to Mohammed, They took their phones, their money and what they were carrying. A week later, Omar is solemnly holding a small handwritten banner: “Justice and truth for those killed at the border of Melilla on 24.06.2022. Immigrant lives matter.” “I just want to leave Morocco to go to a safe country,” this young Chadian says.
Source: Informacion
