After the Melilla massacre, the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras told Fanpage.it: “Migrants have been suffering from severe and frequent violence for months: deportations to the desert, arrests, arbitrary detentions, lack of access to drugs, drinking water, food… Even violent sexual acts were practiced, especially towards women”.
there Melilla Massacre Last Friday, in which 37 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa lost their lives, is just the tip of the iceberg of what happens every day at the border between Morocco and Spain: the pictures Bodies piled up in the sun and those of the violence inflicted by the police on the survivors have gone around the world and have shown what happens to the poor who dare to reach the “fortress” of Europe: if they do not drown in the Mediterranean Sea, they will be confronted with barbed wire fences of Dozens of meters high, batons and abuse.
However, the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras interviewed by Fanpage.it paints an even more worrying picture that no camera has been able to capture so far. “Migrants suffer Deportations to the desert, arrests, arbitrary arreststhey are denied access to medicine, drinking water and food.” And as if that weren’t enough, after last Friday’s massacre, the victims were hastily buried without even being identified and without notifying their families.
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) accuses Morocco of burying the victims without identifying them, without autopsy or investigation. Is that so?
Eighteen migrants who died trying to enter Melilla
Yes, the burial of victims without identification and without informing their families constitutes another violation of human rights, violence that continues after death. In fact, there was an opportunity for the survivors of the massacre to participate in identifying the dead, but there was a lack of will to respect the rights of these people and their families. At this point, we demand that a fair process be guaranteed that leads to finding the truth about what happened, does justice to the victims, compensates the abused and, above all, ensures that what happened never happens again.
In a press release, you accuse the Moroccan police of punitive expeditions against migrants in Nador, Tetouan, Tangier and Dakhla. Can you describe what was done to them?
Migrant communities have been subjected to severe and frequent violence for months: deportations to the desert, arrests, arbitrary detentions, lack of access to medicines, drinking water, food… Even sexual violence was often used, especially against women.
Who do you think is responsible for the Melilla massacre?
Political and material responsibilities must be determined through an independent investigation. However, migrant communities and human rights movements blame both the Spanish and Moroccan states for these 37 deaths: there is testimony from survivors and many videos clearly show what happened.
What are you asking the governments of Spain and Morocco? And the European Union?
It is imperative that the wounded be guaranteed quality medical care, that the deceased be identified and their families informed. We demand that the dead be buried with dignity and that the survivors are not subjected to any criminalization process. We demand that the right to asylum be guaranteed to all people who need it and that special protection mechanisms be activated for children, since minors were among the victims of last Friday’s violence. We also demand that cooperation and foreign policy be planned in such a way that respect for human rights, an end to the criminalization of migration, an end to necropolitics, the process of border externalization, militarization, the systematic violation of communities of people of people fleeing and their families. We call for the dismantling of the colonial system, which continues to reproduce, and we believe this is a fundamental step towards guaranteeing these rights.
Why can’t even the Spanish government – backed by a centre-left coalition – manage to change migration policy and guarantee migrants from Morocco a dignified welcome?
What we have seen over the last few months is that acceptance and respect of rights is possible when there is a clear political will. This is shown by the more than 100,000 Ukrainians who have arrived in Spain. However, the Spanish state is permeated with institutional racism, and this is even more true and deadly in the border areas, where not only the right to freedom of movement is prevented, but also the most basic right, the right to life, is violated. Repealing Spain’s immigration law is the first step in eradicating institutional racism: it should be a priority for this so-called progressive government.