~ WHEN HARAGA MINORS GET A SLAP ~

[HOUDA-K]

By Houda Filali-Ansary

Moroccan minors trying to illegally emigrate to Spain suffer from ill treatment on both sides of the Mediterranean sea, a report by SOS-Racismo and Colectivo al Jaima revealed Tuesday in Rabat.


Illegal emigrants waiting for their explusion from Spain.

“What do you want to do when you grow up?
- I want to “burn” to Spain,” (emigrate illegally) replies twelve-year-old Mohamed with a grin. The young protégé of the Darna Association for street children in Tangiers is pointing out the vague outline of the Spanish coasts, only a few kilometres away.

Fulfilling Mohamed's dream is anything but a nice experience. Every year, dozens of minors like him try to cross to Spain without a visa in the hope of a better life. Many make the big attempt either on their own or with other teenagers from the same neighbourhood. A few individuals succeed and end up left to their own devices in places such as Madrid, Catalonia or Algesiras; others fail and have to go through a humiliating trip back home.

While minors' illegal emigration is a particularly tragic phenomenon in itself, these youngsters' situations are worsened by bad treatment they get from both the Moroccan and the Spanish authorities, revealed the Spanish NGOs SOS-Racismo and Colectivo al Jaima.

In a press conference held in Rabat on May 3, the two NGOs presented their joint report, titled ”Menores en las fronteras: de los retornos efectuados sin garantías a menores marroquíes y de los malos tratos sufridos” (Minors at the frontiers: Moroccan minors returned without guaranties and abuse), based on the testimonies of 28 minors and their families, gathered over an 8-month period.

The document, the NGOs pointed out, showed that neither Morocco nor Spain are respecting the international Convention on the Rights of the Child, despite having signed it. For instance, legal agreements signed by both countries authorize the Spanish authorities to repatriate youngsters aged between 16 and 18 in 48 hours, like older emigrants, even if the Spanish law considers them as minors and therefore eligible for a softer treatment.
Others are expelled from Spain despite having the legal possibility to apply for residence permits and, in some cases, even if they already have one. Unpredictable expulsions occurring sometimes in the middle of the night or against medical orders, ended up breaking “illegal” teenagers' confidence in Spanish children's integration centres, especially in Madrid.


Most of the teenagers mentionned by the report belonged to broken families earning less than MAD 2000 a month. A street boy sleeping in Tangiers.

“They caught me along with four other minors. They bound our hands with ropes and took us to Granada, to a police station. From there, they took us to the Melilla airport. In Melilla, they led us to the Moroccan frontier, in Ben Anzar, where we stayed with the Moroccan police. In Beni Anzar, they put us in a room three- metre square, along with other people. We spent 24 hours without being given any food. Those who had money could eat, those who hadn't could die with hunger, [no one would care]. We were presented to the Justice in Nador, along with the adults. A boy gave me money to return home,”......said one of the teenagers mentioned by the report.


Most of the working boys mentionned by the report earned less than MAD 600 a month.

Back in Morocco, the local police are particularly criticized by the report - even if their Spanish colleagues are not spared either: 93% of families were not even told about their children's return. Instead, the young boys are taken to police stations where they can be held for up to three days. Some of the children mentioned by the report even had to pay the same fines as those imposed on illegal emigrants who had already reached the age of majority ; a heavy burden for their families since in 89% of the cases, family incomes were below MAD 2,000 a month, while the fine for illegal emigration can vary between MAD 2,000 and 10,000.

Frightening figures in the report also revealed that bad treatment included beatings. A total of 50% reported being kicked by the Moroccan police, 25% were slapped, others were beaten with cables (15%) or clubs (10%). They also reported having been insulted (30%), beaten on the head (26%) and having their clothes (20%) or shoes (24%) taken off and thrown into the sea.

Despite all this, all the children interrogated said they would try again. Some out of necessity, like this young boy the police left 1,000 km away from home with only a bus ticket, the others because they can only dream of their future as being outside Morocco. All the bad treatment in the world will never prevent those children from trying to leave the country again; this is a fact the Moroccan and the Spanish authorities should think twice about before they launch a new set of anti-emigration measures.