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Morocco trials a ‘radically new’ politics of migration for sub-‐Saharan Africans – By Sebastien Bachelet Posted on January 15, 2014 (http://africanarguments.org/2014/01/15/morocco-‐trials-‐a-‐radically-‐new-‐politics-‐of-‐migration-‐for-‐sub-‐saharan-‐africans-‐by-‐sebastien-‐ bachelet/) by AfricanArgumentsEditor (http://africanarguments.org/author/africanargumentseditor/) 2014 could be the year that significant advancements are made in the way that Morocco treats ‘irregular migrants’ within its borders. After last year’s events, which saw Morocco come under pressure for taking steps to address human rights’ abuses, on 1st January, offices for the regularisation of migrants finally opened (http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20140103-‐le-‐maroc-‐ lance-‐une-‐campagne-‐regularisation-‐papiers?
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(http://africanarguments.org/wp-‐content/uploads/2014/01/Morocco_pic.jpg) Outside the Moroccan parliement where new legislation regarding treatment of ‘irregular migrants’ was passed in 2013.
ns_campaign=editorial&ns_source=gplus&ns_mchannel=reseaux_sociaux&ns_fee=0&ns_linkname=20140103_le_maroc_lance_une_campagne_regularisation); however, migrants and NGOs remain cautious. According to controversial estimates by the Moroccan Home Office, Sub-‐Saharan Africans are the most numerous amongst the 25 to 45 thousand irregular migrants present in the country. Heralding from a variety of socio-‐economic backgrounds in western and central Africa, migrants have already undertaken a perilous journey, but the last leg of the journey to ‘Fortress Europe’ can prove even more hazardous. To better some light on recent major changes concerning migration in Morocco you need to go back to March 2013, and the death of a Cameroonian migrant we shall refer to as ‘Clément’. On 11th March, along with another approximately 150 sub-‐Saharan migrants, Clément attempted to cross the border between the Moroccan city Nador and the Spanish enclave Melilla. Waiting for the prayer call at 4.30am, migrants prepared for what they call the ‘shock’ (le choc), or ‘hitting the border’ (frapper). This is no euphemism as they climb on makeshift ladders over the razor-‐topped fences. This was the start of the ‘apocalypse’ routinely described by migrants as they were subjected to the violence of both Spanish and Moroccan forces. The harrowing accounts of how events unfolded have been collected in a report by the Moroccan migrants’ rights association GADEM (http://media.wix.com/ugd/b25828_6ee419cb01b21001fe01359fdeb80cc7.pdf). Clément was admitted to hospital with a broken leg and suffering from a head wound, along with 24 other people. After having received no sound medical care, he was discharged on the same day. On 16th March, he died in the forest of Gourougou from the injuries inflicted by Moroccan and Spanish forces. The ambulance called for by his friends never arrived. This was not an isolated incident. NGOs and migrants’ associations in Morocco and beyond had noted some improvement since the infamous 2005 Ceuta and Mellia events (http://www.meltingpot.org/IMG/pdf/livrenoir-‐ceuta.pdf) where at least eleven migrants died, and hundreds were wounded, during some of the first major group attempts at crossing the border to the Spanish enclaves. However, since the end of 2011, those same associations decried a significant escalation of violence against migrants. Before ceasing its activities in northern Morocco, Doctors Without Borders released its “Violence, Vulnerability and Migration: Trapped at the Gates of Europe (http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/reports/2013/Trapped_at_the_Gates_of_Europe.pdf)” report, highlighting the use of violence by Spanish and Moroccan authorities. The NGO interviewed 190 migrants in Nador and Oujda and 63 percent affirmed having been victims of violence. 64 percent of those acts of violence were attributed to the Moroccan authorities and 7 percent to the Spanish forces. What was significant about Clément’s death was that it did not join the long list of unaccounted for acts of violence. Previously, migrants had been reported to have been killed at the borders, but bodies disappeared and witnesses moved on. On 16 March, Sara Creta, an Italian filmmaker and Sylvin Mbarga, a Cameroonian journalist and member of the migrant association ALECMA (Association lumière sur l’émigration clandestine au Maghreb), were present in the Gourougou forest. As part of an initiative by ALECMA and migrants’ rights association GADEM (Groupe antiraciste d’accompagnement et de défense des étrangers et migrants), Sara and Sylvin initially set out to document the latest attacks; however, they found themselves filming Clément’s agony and death. This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=player_embedded&v=w67k5MkUEWQ) received international coverage by major media such as La Republica, Mediapart (http://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/280613/clement-‐mort-‐tabasse-‐pour-‐avoir-‐tente-‐de-‐gagner-‐leurope), El Pais (http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/06/28/actualidad/1372440971_006327.html) and Yabiladi (http://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/18147/frontiere-‐melilia-‐ clement-‐camerounais-‐enfants.html). It also formed the basis of the ‘Number 9: Stop police violence at the borders’ campaign (http://saracreta.wix.com/into-‐the-‐ forest).
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