Morocco: Migrants caught between Ceuta dreams and reality

There are only a few kilometers between the city of Fnideq in Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta — but the distance between those who dream of crossing that divide and those who chose to stay in Morocco is far greater than that.

After July 30, when an estimated 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, there were further calls on social media for people to come to Fnideq for another mass crossing attempt in mid-August.

That is despite the fact that around 100 people died in the July attempt and that most of those who crossed into Ceuta have since returned to Morocco. Numbers are unclear but somewhere between 2,000 and 8,000 of those who managed to get over to the Spanish enclave remain there. According to reports, they are now living in desperate circumstances . Many are sleeping on the beach while they wait for Spanish authorities to decide their fate.

Still, back in Morocco, some would-be migrants continue to hope for a chance to get to Ceuta.

Malika came to Fnideq from the city of Casablanca in western Morocco with her two children after she heard that people had managed to get there on July 30; she did not want to give DW her full name for personal reasons.

"My life is below zero," she said, with tears in her eyes. "I have no life."

Malika heard there might be a new opportunity to cross in August so she has stayed in Fnideq, together with her 3-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son. For the past few weeks, she says she has simply wandered the streets searching for ways to feed her children. The family has slept in the open.

But rumors about an August crossing also reached both Spanish and Moroccan authorities. On August 15, eyewitnesses reported a heavy Moroccan security presence around Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish exclave to the east, with numerous checkpoints, patrol boats monitoring the coast and water cannons stationed at the border. Moroccan police said they arrested 111 people as they tried to enter Ceuta.