http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2012/11/502449.html
Ein Überlebender der 3-Boote-Tragödie vom 28.10.2012 berichtet in einem Interview. Er klagt die spanischen Behörden an. Obwohl sie sich bereits in spanischen Gewässern befunden haben, hat die spanische Seite keine Rettungsoperation gestartet. Und er klagt die marokkanischen Behörden an, die die Boote in spanischen Gewässern aufgebracht haben und Überlebende mit Gewalt nach Marokko zurückgebracht haben – zwei Überlebende sprangen aus Protest ins Meer und verschwanden. Im marokkanischen Tanger kamen die Überlebenden ohne jedwede soziale und psychologische Unterstützung in Polizeigewahrsam.
No Borders Morocco interview sole survivor of tragic sinking of boats
in Straits of Gibraltar on 28.10.12. Full transcript available at
beatingborders.wordpress.com along with mp3 of interview in French
with English and Wolof translation
On the night of Sunday the 28th October 2012 at least 14 people
drowned in the Straits of Gibraltar between Tangiers, Morocco and
Tarifa, Spain. They were Sub-Saharan Africans from various West
African countries including Senegal and the Ivory Coast, including
refugees registered with the UNHCR.
According to an Ivorian man who claimed to be the only survivor of the
incident, three boats left that night from the forest outside
Tangiers. All three boats had already passed the borderline markers in
the sea when they began to sink, most likely due to excess weight.
Legally, since the boats were in Spanish territory, the migrants
should have been dealt with by Spanish Border Patrol and any survivors
taken back to Spain where they could apply for Asylum. However, all
three boats were in fact dealt with by Moroccan police, who chased
them across the border, outside their actual jurisdiction, allegedly
without informing the Spanish police of the deaths of migrants.
The migrants were in ?Zodiac? inflatable dinghies designed to carry a
maximum of 300kg, or four people of average weight. The high cost of
these boats in Morocco, combined with the extreme police harassment,
institutional racism and financial strain Sub-Saharan migrants face in
Morocco cause many to risk overloading them to save time and money.
One boat carried 6 people of which 4 were caught by Moroccan police
and brought back to Tangiers. The other two chose to jump into the sea
rather than be caught by the Moroccans, because, in the words of the
Ivorian survivor: ?they already crossed the border, and its like they
don’t like to come back to Morocco. That’s why they jump to the water.
So either they survive or die, but they don’t want to come back to
Morocco.? These two are believed to have been eventually picked up by
Spanish authorities and taken to Spain.
The other two boats each contained 8 people, at least double the
recommended weight. Despite the boats captains contacting friends in
Tangier who in turn informed the Spanish Police that there were boats
sinking and lives at risk, the Spanish police disregarded the information.
One of the boats contained a woman carrying her baby child. There are
rumours that she somehow survived and made it to Spain, but our
source, the sole survivor, did not see her get rescued. She was on a
different boat to him, and he is certain that he was the only survivor
of the boat he was on.
He says that the Moroccan police passively watched him struggling in
the water for between 30-40 minutes before throwing him a rope,
despite the fact that they are supposed to have two trained divers on
board each of their boats. When he informed them that there were other
bodies in the water he said they did nothing. ?It was like they just
didn’t care? he said.
When he was taken back to Tangiers they detained him for 18 hours at
the central police station. They did not give him access to any
medical or psychological care, a phone call or food other than two
sandwiches during this time. Despite his complaints that he was
extremely tired and traumatised they did not even let him rest,
instead taking him from office to office the whole time he was detained.
The survivor, who wishes to remain anonymous, is officially a refugee,
registered with the UNHCR in Mauritania where he was forced to move
after leaving his native Ivory Coast due to Civil War. He said he had
only wanted to stay in Spain enough time to be able to buy various
materials he needed for his business in Mauritania but which were much
cheaper in Spain.
He maintains that if the Moroccan police had communicated with the
Spanish authorities more fully, rather than unlawfully entering
Spanish Territory as they did, lives would have been saved. This
incident seriously calls into question the EU’s funding of Moroccan
border police, who are widely regarded as corrupt, with no respect for
the basic human rights of Migrants.
Since the 1995 Barcelona Agreement Moroccan authorities have been
assisting the EU in protecting it’s external borders in exchange for
funding and promises of economic integration. Moroccan police are paid
1500 euros for every migrant they arrest, supposedly to pay for the
costs of deportation back to their home countries, and for the cost of
keeping them in an adequate condition of life during detention.
However, migrants widely report that the Moroccan police routinely
detain them in extremely poor conditions, without adequate food,
medical care or sleeping conditions. Many migrants claim the Moroccan
police simply wait until the EU pays them, before releasing the
migrants back onto the streets or illegally deporting them to Algeria.
The Moroccan police are accused of pocketing the money from the EU, as
individuals, raising questions about whether the EU should continue
funding these corrupt practices.
Migrants here clearly blame the racism and corruption of the Police,
and the difficulties they experience in Morocco as migrants, for the
deaths at sea, of which this incident is only the most recent example.
The full transcript of the interview is can be found here:
beatingborders.wordpress.com
Contact nobordersmorocco@riseup.net for more information.