The biggest news in Spain this week is the onslaught (El Mundo graphic) on the North African Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla by thousands of African immigrants desperate to start a new life in Europe. Six were shot in the early hours of Thursday by Moroccan police who claim they fired in self-defence.
Spiegel reports that “Ceuta and Melilla are particularly attractive to migrants because Spanish law requires refugees to be released from detention after 40 days if they are unable to return to their country of origin. Since most African countries refuse to take them back, they are released into Spanish society”, and continues, “To keep the Africans from reaching Spain, Madrid now wants to build a third and even higher fence at Melilla.”
Evidently more fences are not going to make any difference and this is a situation that is only going to escalate. The problem is clearly related to appalling economic and political conditions in Africa, and what on earth can be done about that? More to the point, when are the powers that be going to start seriously trying to do something about that? Yes, happy G8 guys, that means you!
jim w
7 Oct 05 at 3:02 pm
I completely agree.
There are nine happy G8 guys. What’s that about?
Ben
7 Oct 05 at 3:05 pm
Well spotted! I noticed that after I had put it up. Apparently one of them is some super European chief…. anyone know who it is?
Pol
7 Oct 05 at 9:14 pm
I heard that the Morrocan-Spanish border is the most uneven border in the world (in terms of income per capita at both sides of the border there is more difference than the mexico-us borderline, for instance).
It is clear that Europe cannot become a fortress, and the only solution will come in the long term (opening our protected markets to the goods produced in poorer nations – i.e. agricultural goods, which is a inneficient sector in Europe and we spend zillions in subsidizing our production and not letting the Africans sell theirs to us). But those measures will not help the dramatic situation at Ceuta and Melilla tomorrow night. I believe the Morrocan rulers are using that terrible situation to put pressure on the Spanish enclaves and are being very irresponsible and are violating all human rights when they use extreme force against the migrants. They said that the migrans who could not cross to Spain where arrested by the Morrocan authorities and where taken to the desert where they where left to their own fate, including the injured and pregnant women.
Sin
7 Oct 05 at 11:47 pm
Speaking of G8 – also Live8 and Make Poverty History – seems everything quickly went quiet about Africa. The G8 conference was held at the beginning of July. At the stated rate of one person dying every 3 seconds, that’s makes 3,600,000 dead since then. When does it get urgent?
Sin
7 Oct 05 at 11:53 pm
They are all chefs; and there are definitely too many of them.
Ben
9 Oct 05 at 12:27 am
That’s an interesting point about Morroco using the situation to put pressure on Spain. Sounds about right. They have decided to repatriate the people they dumped in the desert at least, guess they had no choice once the press found out. More here:
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2005/10/08/espana/1128769872.html
Ben
9 Oct 05 at 12:32 am
I should have said, once Médicos Sin Fronteras found out and informed the press…
Jimmy
12 Oct 05 at 12:48 am
Right to Left – US, Canada, France, Japan, UK, Italy, Russia, (EU), Germany.
The next G8 meeting will only have 8 people as Blair is now King of Europe.
The G8 quickly moved onto other issues after serveral bombs across London drowned out the pleas of the poor africans for equality and hogged all the headlines.