The border crossing of Chinatown, ground zero of the Melilla tragedy, is still intact. Even the fence that gave way, when dozens of people tried to scale it in that tragic jump attempt a year ago, continues without repair. Instead, a few meters away, Moroccan authorities are erecting a new fence, which is added to the other three that separate both countries. In recent years, they have also dug a moat at some points along the fence. Since the tragedy of 24J, no new jump attempt has been recorded. In addition to the meters of wire, an intense police and military presence has been added that has prevented any other attempt to approach the fence.
The Moroccan mountains that surround the autonomous city, and that year ago served as a precarious refuge for refugees and migrants, are empty according to several organizations in defense of Human Rights consulted. “You can go see him, you won’t find any migrants,” also assured an official from the border town of Beni Ensar. The controls that exist at the accesses to the city and the police patrols in this wooded area prevent these people from establishing themselves.
Many of the survivors of the tragedy live in Casablanca or Rabatcities in which the fear of arrests is less and they can find some work to continue or try again to cross the border. Most of them feel stranded in the country, the chances of reaching Europe have been reduced and many do not have access to aid. Faced with the lock imposed on Melilla, some have tried to enter Spain through Ceutaalthough police control is also intense, as they explain, and many are detained and forcibly transferred to towns hundreds of kilometers from the border.
According to the latest data from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are about 2,000 asylum seekers and refugees coming from Sudan or the border countries ravaged by the conflict. Although this figure could be higher, because many of them have not gone to the offices that this organization has in Rabat to start this process. They do not trust that it can help them out of their situation.
Just a buried victim
twenty of open pits shortly after the tragedy in the Nador cemetery are still empty. They were dug a year ago with the intention of quickly burying the victims, according to the complaint Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), although in the end it did not come to pass. A few meters away there is a grave with the date of 06/24/2023 and the name of Adam, a 33-year-old Sudanese. When asking for him at the gate of the cemetery, one of the workers says: “Ah, the Sudanese, he is here & rdquor ;, while pointing out the direction to his grave, one of the most recent.
Adam is the only fatality, of the 23 who died in the tragedy (according to official figures) that has been buried. It was possible thanks to the fact that his brother who lives in London was able to travel to Nador. The authorities did not allow him to see his body, and he had to identify it in photographs.
The other bodies are still in the morgue. from the city hospital. Although the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) has managed to get the victims to contact their relatives, they have not been able to travel to Morocco due to problems with the visa or the impossibility of paying for the trip. In addition, in April the conflict in Sudan escalated and the war has spread throughout the country. According to organizations in defense of human rights, the death toll may exceed the quarantine and they denounce that there are still 76 missing.
“March for justice” in Melilla
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On the other side of the fence, dozens of people have demonstrated this saturday ofFrom the center of Melilla to the border crossing of Chinatown to demand justice for the victims of 24J. Sani Ladan, spokesman for the call, has called for an investigation to be reopened “that is independent, transparent and exhaustive& rdquor ;. “We believe that the one carried out by the prosecution was not enough and that a lot of evidence that we have been learning about in recent months was left aside & rdquor ;, she has defended herself. In addition, she has explained that “the families still do not have clear news about what happened on 24J with their children & rdquor ;.
A total of 300 organizations have signed a manifest in which they denounce that the survivors illegally expelled They were, for the most part, Sudanese people seeking refuge, “a country immersed in an armed conflict that has been merciless for years against the civilian population & rdquor ;, they specify. They also argue that in the last five years, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior, Spain has granted 90% of international protection statutes to Sudanese people who have managed to reach the country and they regret that the people who managed to set foot on Spanish soil on 24J were expelled and did not have the opportunity to apply for asylum.