Clothes, shoes, food cans, remains of fires and many other objects are scattered on the ground between pines and rocks. Is a area of difficult access on Mount Gurugú, a few kilometers from Melilla. It is the only thing left of one of the many camps in this area of forest. Now there is no one left.
Migrants spend months, even years waiting, in precarious conditions in places like this. They hope one day to be able to jump the fence. From camps like this came most of the 2,000 people who last Friday tried to enter the autonomous city. The ones left in this area are hidden by fear of new raids.
The word “boza” is written on one of the rocks in this empty camp, which means “victory”, often repeated among the migrants when they manage to touch European soil. Also names, phrases and drawings accompanied by the date.
Hiding or fleeing
You can see the Mediterranean from above, beyond it is the dream of many of those who made those graffiti. For now, most of the migrants who were not arrested by the police have chosen to leave the city of Nador, the closest to Melilla, or hide.
“There are no people around here, they are leaving. Now they are more afraid than ever because they believe that these situations will repeat themselves,” laments a person who works with migrants. In different parts of the country and, for weeks now, fear has increased among the migrant community of being arrested on the street and transferred to the interior of the country to hinder their progress. Especially in the cities that are departure points for small boats or are near Ceuta and Melilla.
At least 23 dead
Three days after the attempted mass entry, the dance of figures between official and humanitarian sources continues. This Sunday the Moroccan authorities have confirmed the death of five more people, 23 in total. Humanitarian organizations argue that at least 37 have lost their lives, other sources consider the figure to be higher. At the moment, 18 migrants and a police officer remain under medical observation, according to local sources.
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In the Nador cemetery this Saturday they opened a twenty pits with the forecast of burying the people who have died in the jump attempt. “The dead are still in the morgue. We are waiting for the authorization to be signed by the king’s attorney [jefe de la Fiscalía]”, explained an official. He believes that they will be buried in three days or a week approximately. A few meters from these graves there are several unidentified migrants buried that have appeared lifeless on the coast.
independent investigation
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights has asked that no body be buried without investigating the reason for its death: “Without investigation, without autopsy and without identification, the authorities try to hide the disaster”, this entity has defended. Together with other organizations, they have asked that the victims be identified and their remains be returned to their families, and they also demand that an independent investigation be opened in Morocco and Spain.