Fortress Europe:
Morocco 01:12:
V/O: It is night-time in Ceuta. (Spanish territory (enclave) on Moroccan side of the Strait) 01:28
Three youths are caught by a patrol car of the Civil Guard as they make their way between the large sheds near the port. 01:51:
Two of them have no ID. They are Moroccan, and know that this is the end of their journey which had only just started. Tonight they will sleep in a cell, and tomorrow they will be sent back home.
02:27:
These arrests are part of the daily routine of this patrol which our team will accompany over the next few nights. Their mission is to patrol the roads and coastline in the fight against the smuggling of illegal drugs, and, increasingly, of people. All along the 20 km. of Ceutas winding and often abrupt coastline there are many hot points, where the pateras put to sea. We are now at one of these points in the Benzu neighbourhood. This border post on the northern coast marks the separation line. From here onwards the beaches and adjacent houses belong to Morocco. Crossing the line is not allowed at night, but many try. 03:32
The patrol continues. There is no moon, and the darkness favours clandestine boat sailings, although it is risky now with the sea breaking violently against the beach. A light, almost imperceptible, but too near the coast, alerts the Civil Guard Patrol. With the help of infrared equipment the patrol is able to make out a small fishing boat. A little later, another patrol finds the boat pulled up on the beach. The Scorpio has been abandoned by its two pilots. The Civil Guard later confirm that one of them has a criminal record for smuggling illegal immigrants. 04:21
It is a busy night. A van with dark-tinted windows parked on the fishing wharf raises suspicions. It is empty. 04:36:
It is not just the small pateras that specialise in smuggling.The number of fishing vessels picked up off the Andalusian coasts over the past few years provide ample evidence of the growing trend. As a response to the crisis in the fishing sector, instead of fish, their holds are now being packed with a highly profitable alternative cargo of illegal immigrants. 05:00:
Dreams sometimes come to an end before dawn even breaks. Hiding among the boats pulled up on a beach near where the Scorpio was abandoned, the Civil Guard has just discovered a group of 14 men without papers. Fourteen men dazzled by the torches hide their faces, and a story we will never know.
05:42
Voice of authority: Come this way! Come on, man! Come on, lets go! 06:13
They do not speak Spanish. They have hardly any money. They have no posessions other than the clothes they are wearing. They probably paid in advance for a place on a boat that never arrived. 06:25
They too will spend the night in a cell, and tomorrow will be taken to the Moroccan border. They carry no ID, but nonetheless it is easy to guess that they are between 20 and 30 years old. Most are Moroccan citizens. 07:01:
The next day, Ceutas centre is alive with the hustle and bustle of any commercial town. For centuries, four cultures have co-existed side-by-side: Catholics, the majority of the population; Muslims, Jews and Hindu. This is only one of Ceutass peculiarities. As with Melilla, (the other Spanish North African enclave) what has marked Ceuta apart from other cities is its geographic location, which in recent years has imposed a difficult role on the city. For Africa, it has become the gateway to Europe, but for the European Union, Ceuta is expected to play a policing role, a gatekeeper (for Fortress Europe) 07:48:
We leave the city centre, and as we do our tour of the coastline we are surprised to meet up again with Hassan, one of the youths arrested without papers last night. He had been taken back to the Moroccan border this morning, but in just a few hours he has managed to get back into Ceuta again.
08:06
All of his family are in France and Spain. 08:21:
He tells us that he is 15, and that he lived in France with his parents until he was arrested by the police and sent back to his country. He is now here trying to find a way to get back. 08:32:
Mohamed translates for us. He was born in the Moroccan city of Casablanca 21 years ago, and speaks Spanish from the time he spent in Andalusia. 08:43
Mohammed:
I have come from up there. I used to live in Spain, up north. I went in to get my papers all in order but the police up there really screwed me - they sent me back to my country. Ive come here now to get back there again because I am married and have a family and everything - that is why they sent me here from up there. I have come to earn some money and get out again 09:07:
This is the story of Mohamed. A story he shares with 8,000 others arrested without papers last year in Andalucia. 85% were Moroccan. 09:30
The situation of the immigrants from other parts of Africa is very different, but no less dramatic. We confirmed this when we got to the Calomacarro camp where they have been placed. 550 men of different nationalities all live here together. They have entered Ceuta though Morocco, but they cannot be repatriated via the same route. For some months now, the largest group is the Algerians. A year ago there were 17: now they number 350. 10:13:
As we go further into the camp we come to Babylon City, as the area of sheds inhabited by Senegalese is called. Next to it are the tents occupied by the other Sub-Saharan Africans. Disappointed with the press coverage, they do not want to be interviewed. We know that they have been arriving from Mauritania. Liberia, Mali and many other countries devastated by war or famine. They left their families behind. They have a chance of being taken to the mainland Spain by some NGO or another without having to resort to illegal methods or having to place themselves at the mercy of the smuggling mafias. For them, this camp is seen as a temporary purgatory they must pass through on their way to the paradise they yearn for and hope to find on the other side of the Strait. 11:15:
Their situation has been temporarily legalised, and they even have the freedom to go outside the camp. Many take advantage of it to earn a little money. They sell newspapers, work as parking attendants, or wash cars, like these groups we see along the road on the return trip. 11:36:
Moro Toure is one of them. He says that people give them charity. On some days they may make as much as 2,000 pesetas, but other days....nothing at all. He arrived in Ceuta six months ago from Guinea-Bissau. With a friend, he walked through Mali, Algeria and Morocco. 11:54
Moro Toure:There, you see your family going without food for two days. With 20 people in the family you cannot eat for two days and it becomes difficult to stay there. If Im living with my mother and I dont have a job, how am I going to feed her? If I stay there and dont have a job, who is going to feed my mother? It is very difficult.. 12:15:
He is 21 years of age and comes from a peasant family. He took charge of them after his fathers death, that is why he sends them part of the money he earns washing cars. 12:28:
MORO TOURE: My mother is very tired and it is my fault. Since I left she does all the work. If I cant send my mother money, it is no good, no good. 12:58:
Night falls and once again we accompany the Civil Guard on their patrol. They start by searching some unused military installations. The mafia use any place to hide the immigrants. In September alone the Civil Guard patrols arrested more than 100 illegal immigrants. We can now add three more to this number. They were found during a search of the same beach where last night we witnessed the arrest of 14 immigrants. 13:34
Interrogation of three by staff-sergeant: Whereabouts in Morocco are you from? (in French he answers that he does not speak Spanish) From where, Fez, Rabat? From Fez, yes. and you, where are you from? Marrakesh. And you? From Rabat. Why did you come here? To look for work. To look for work or to go across to Spain? No, no. So, you came here from Fez, Rabat and Marrakesh to look for work here. Dont you think that its a bit too far? And here there are very few job opportunities. 14:32
Once the three have been taken to the police station, the patrol goes to the port area. It has been raining and the sea is calm. But there are hardly any boats at sea. The last ferry leaves for the peninsula. (Spain) 14:55
Suddenly, a young man starts running when he sees the Civil Guard patrol car. The patrol had stopped his friends. They are Algerians from the Calamocarro camp. 15:35:
Nearby we meet an old acquaintance ....Hassan. He shows us his new shoes. They are broken, and his feet are wet. It did not take too long for him to be arrested again.. His travelling companions are all from Morocco, except for Fari, a 23 year-old Saharan. (Former Spanish colony) 15:57
FARI interrogated by staff-sergeant: You are thinking of getting a patera across to the Peninsula? Well, some way or other. And how much do they charge you to get across in a patera? I dont know. There are many traffickers and each one charges...How much do they charge, roughly? Some charge 100,000 pesetas; others 200,000. Others 50,000 pesetas. It depends. And do you have the money to go? No, I dont even have money to eat, you know. So, what do you want? I want to go there to find work. To do any job, you know. If only I could find a job for 400 pesetas I could sleep in peace, I wouldnt go around like this; I wouldnt be like this. Look at me. With a job for 400 pesetas I am not going to run. How do people live where you come from? Badly, very badly. We live in the street . Like dogs, you know. I havent slept for at least two days and tonight, where am I going to sleep? Before there were some dry cardboard boxes, but with the rain, where can you find somewhere to sleep? 17:37
Yet again they will be returned to Morocco. And yet again they will be back. There is no truce when you are driven by basic need. 18:00
During the day, on beaches like this one in Benzu, on the border with Morocco, the number of beached pateras catches our attention. This image is repeated all along the coast. The patera is inevitably associated with illegal activities, in particular, the trade in illegal immigrants. So much so that at times we forget that in the Strait, they are traditionally used for fishing. What is difficult is to control their use. 18:37
The construction and sale of pateras is regulated. They cost about half a million pesetas. In the city there are 4 authorised boatyards, and an undetermined number of clandestine ones which were thrown up as a result of the boom in the illegal immigration trade. 18:52
The work in the legalised workshops such as this one is monitored by the Port Authorities, and the boats must fulfil certain requirements. They cannot be sold without the relevant registration number, a papers with the name of the owner, and a full description of their features. Nevertheless, the owner of this particular workshop declined to be filmed, for fear of reprisals by those who control the illegal side of the business. 19:24
We decided to visit another workshop, recently legalised. Here we were not made welcome. 19:51
In this shed in the harbour they keep the pateras confiscated by the police and the Civil Guard. So far this year they have confiscated more than one hundred, twice the number confiscated during the whole of last year. Many do not have a registration number. A quick dab with a brush is enough to paint out the number before putting to sea. It is all part of the game. This way, if the patera is intercepted it will be impossible to find out who the owner is. The documentation of this patera will then be used for another patera of identical characteristics, which can be acquired illegally. All it needs is for the same registration number to be painted on again. 20:32
It has started to rain. As we are about to leave the port, some groups of young North Africans attract our attention. They are wandering among the lorry trailers and some get underneath. 20:46
They all tell us that they want to get to Spain or other countries in Europe because in Marocco theres no work, so they will get across by climbing into cars & lorries, or hiding away on a boat. 21:34
They arrived 16 days ago. Since then, theyve been living in the street. They have no money. Their only way of getting across to the Spanish mainland is as stowaways on a boat or by hiding in a lorry. 22:51
This is another way to get across. Undoubtedly cheaper than via patera, but no less dangerous. 23:05
EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, LORRY DRIVER: I have had to remove 10 immigrants from the lorry. With the Civil Guard, of course, and it is all very upsetting. The other day, last week, well, this one actually, an immigrant hid under the trailer and as I was about to get on the ferry, well, his legs were being dragged along the ground). If the Civil Guard hadnt told me, I could have killed him. And that is very sad. 23:43
Before embarking, lorries have to pass through customs.Theres one here 25:19
Detainee is taken away No-one is surprised. Neither the lorry driver nor the Civil Guard. Not even the detainee. He did not make it today but perhaps some day.... 25:31
The activity in the port never stops. New groups of youngsters approach. The Civil Guard tries with little success to drive them away from the port installations. 25:51
Among the group there are some children. The youngest is Anas. He is only 12. Despite his age he tells us, with disarming charm, as if it were all a game, the he had been to Granada, Cordoba, Madrid and many other cities. The Spanish police caught him stealing and sent him back to Morocco. With a bit of luck, he says, hell go back to the peninsula hidden in a lorry. 26:15
ANAS:I like Spain. My home is nice but I like Spain, it is better there: to study, eat , the clothes and everything. 26:33
Increasing numbers of Maghrebi children, like Anas, are arriving in Andalucia. Last year 57 were placed in various centres for children. For minors expulsion is more complicated. Many are forced to go across by their own parents. 26:50
ANAS: What do your parents think about you going to Spain? They said to go and earn a better living there. They told me; my brother and all the family. One of my brothers called Mohamed says you can go to Spain and get the papers and everything. He says there it is better to study and speak Spanish, English and everything, and Italian. My brother told me if I want, it is better there. He also wants to go. 27:22
Outside, around the port, other groups of young people wait for their chance. 27:37
He prefers not to tell his real name and gives us any name, Faisal, for instance. He tells us how he managed to enter Ceuta, through the mountains, over the border. 27:49
FAISAL:They come from Algeria, Casablanca and everywhere. It is difficult to get into Ceuta. You have to pay money to someone and go with them; pay the Mehani in Morocco, like the Civil Guard. You have to give money to the Mehani to get in. We dont pay. They say give 5 dirhans, we say OK and then (gesticulating) we run, get away, and shout hey, another day, some day youll run faster, and give us a hiding. It is always like that; every day the same. If local policemen pick us up and take us to the border, after 5 minutes were back in again. 28:33
We decided to go and see the perimeter fence. We are surprised to see next to it a complex of warehouse sheds. This is as close as we can get to the border because the public works undertaken to make it less accessible are classified as a military secret. The mountains we see beyond the sheds are the mountains that separate Ceuta from Morocco. There are several groups of people hoping to get across. As Faisal told us, there are two ways: either bribe the Mehanis, the Moroccan officials, or give them the slip. 29:11
On the Spanish side, for the last few days, the army has also been guarding the new border fence. As we filmed this, only the Civil Guard was on duty. 29:26:
Guarding the 8 km of mountains that form the frontier is a complicated task. Daily, hundreds of Moroccan citizens try to enter and exit without going through customs. They do it in order to buy all kind of things which they then sell back home. In the same way, others whose aim is to cross the Strait also get though. 29:49
These are the frontiers of Europe. The walls and barbed-wire fences we have erected to protect outselves from being sullied or contaminated by the misery of those trying to escape hunger and despair. Barriers which have proved ineffectual in stopping what even the sea is unable to stop. 30:15
At night the peddlars of hopes and dreams begin their work. There is no moon. Several empty pateras have left the Benzu beach. We dont know if the contraband will be hashish or human beings. The networks are the same. The noise of the engine betrays the presence of one of the boats. The crew know they have been seen, change direction and head towards the port. The Civil Guard closes in by sea and air. The pilot is arrested as he jumps out the patera. There is no crime, only a fine for failure to display a registration number. In this case not even that, because the detainee is a Moroccan without papers. Tomorrow he will be sent back home. The Civil Guard managed to abort this particular operation. But many manage to reach the Andalusian coast every day. In the worst case, the smuggler loses his boat, and the immigrants their hard-earned savings, their dreams and, sometimes, their lives.
Morocco 01:12:
V/O: It is night-time in Ceuta. (Spanish territory (enclave) on Moroccan side of the Strait) 01:28
Three youths are caught by a patrol car of the Civil Guard as they make their way between the large sheds near the port. 01:51:
Two of them have no ID. They are Moroccan, and know that this is the end of their journey which had only just started. Tonight they will sleep in a cell, and tomorrow they will be sent back home.
02:27:
These arrests are part of the daily routine of this patrol which our team will accompany over the next few nights. Their mission is to patrol the roads and coastline in the fight against the smuggling of illegal drugs, and, increasingly, of people. All along the 20 km. of Ceutas winding and often abrupt coastline there are many hot points, where the pateras put to sea. We are now at one of these points in the Benzu neighbourhood. This border post on the northern coast marks the separation line. From here onwards the beaches and adjacent houses belong to Morocco. Crossing the line is not allowed at night, but many try. 03:32
The patrol continues. There is no moon, and the darkness favours clandestine boat sailings, although it is risky now with the sea breaking violently against the beach. A light, almost imperceptible, but too near the coast, alerts the Civil Guard Patrol. With the help of infrared equipment the patrol is able to make out a small fishing boat. A little later, another patrol finds the boat pulled up on the beach. The Scorpio has been abandoned by its two pilots. The Civil Guard later confirm that one of them has a criminal record for smuggling illegal immigrants. 04:21
It is a busy night. A van with dark-tinted windows parked on the fishing wharf raises suspicions. It is empty. 04:36:
It is not just the small pateras that specialise in smuggling.The number of fishing vessels picked up off the Andalusian coasts over the past few years provide ample evidence of the growing trend. As a response to the crisis in the fishing sector, instead of fish, their holds are now being packed with a highly profitable alternative cargo of illegal immigrants. 05:00:
Dreams sometimes come to an end before dawn even breaks. Hiding among the boats pulled up on a beach near where the Scorpio was abandoned, the Civil Guard has just discovered a group of 14 men without papers. Fourteen men dazzled by the torches hide their faces, and a story we will never know.
05:42
Voice of authority: Come this way! Come on, man! Come on, lets go! 06:13
They do not speak Spanish. They have hardly any money. They have no posessions other than the clothes they are wearing. They probably paid in advance for a place on a boat that never arrived. 06:25
They too will spend the night in a cell, and tomorrow will be taken to the Moroccan border. They carry no ID, but nonetheless it is easy to guess that they are between 20 and 30 years old. Most are Moroccan citizens. 07:01:
The next day, Ceutas centre is alive with the hustle and bustle of any commercial town. For centuries, four cultures have co-existed side-by-side: Catholics, the majority of the population; Muslims, Jews and Hindu. This is only one of Ceutass peculiarities. As with Melilla, (the other Spanish North African enclave) what has marked Ceuta apart from other cities is its geographic location, which in recent years has imposed a difficult role on the city. For Africa, it has become the gateway to Europe, but for the European Union, Ceuta is expected to play a policing role, a gatekeeper (for Fortress Europe) 07:48:
We leave the city centre, and as we do our tour of the coastline we are surprised to meet up again with Hassan, one of the youths arrested without papers last night. He had been taken back to the Moroccan border this morning, but in just a few hours he has managed to get back into Ceuta again.
08:06
All of his family are in France and Spain. 08:21:
He tells us that he is 15, and that he lived in France with his parents until he was arrested by the police and sent back to his country. He is now here trying to find a way to get back. 08:32:
Mohamed translates for us. He was born in the Moroccan city of Casablanca 21 years ago, and speaks Spanish from the time he spent in Andalusia. 08:43
Mohammed:
I have come from up there. I used to live in Spain, up north. I went in to get my papers all in order but the police up there really screwed me - they sent me back to my country. Ive come here now to get back there again because I am married and have a family and everything - that is why they sent me here from up there. I have come to earn some money and get out again 09:07:
This is the story of Mohamed. A story he shares with 8,000 others arrested without papers last year in Andalucia. 85% were Moroccan. 09:30
The situation of the immigrants from other parts of Africa is very different, but no less dramatic. We confirmed this when we got to the Calomacarro camp where they have been placed. 550 men of different nationalities all live here together. They have entered Ceuta though Morocco, but they cannot be repatriated via the same route. For some months now, the largest group is the Algerians. A year ago there were 17: now they number 350. 10:13:
As we go further into the camp we come to Babylon City, as the area of sheds inhabited by Senegalese is called. Next to it are the tents occupied by the other Sub-Saharan Africans. Disappointed with the press coverage, they do not want to be interviewed. We know that they have been arriving from Mauritania. Liberia, Mali and many other countries devastated by war or famine. They left their families behind. They have a chance of being taken to the mainland Spain by some NGO or another without having to resort to illegal methods or having to place themselves at the mercy of the smuggling mafias. For them, this camp is seen as a temporary purgatory they must pass through on their way to the paradise they yearn for and hope to find on the other side of the Strait. 11:15:
Their situation has been temporarily legalised, and they even have the freedom to go outside the camp. Many take advantage of it to earn a little money. They sell newspapers, work as parking attendants, or wash cars, like these groups we see along the road on the return trip. 11:36:
Moro Toure is one of them. He says that people give them charity. On some days they may make as much as 2,000 pesetas, but other days....nothing at all. He arrived in Ceuta six months ago from Guinea-Bissau. With a friend, he walked through Mali, Algeria and Morocco. 11:54
Moro Toure:There, you see your family going without food for two days. With 20 people in the family you cannot eat for two days and it becomes difficult to stay there. If Im living with my mother and I dont have a job, how am I going to feed her? If I stay there and dont have a job, who is going to feed my mother? It is very difficult.. 12:15:
He is 21 years of age and comes from a peasant family. He took charge of them after his fathers death, that is why he sends them part of the money he earns washing cars. 12:28:
MORO TOURE: My mother is very tired and it is my fault. Since I left she does all the work. If I cant send my mother money, it is no good, no good. 12:58:
Night falls and once again we accompany the Civil Guard on their patrol. They start by searching some unused military installations. The mafia use any place to hide the immigrants. In September alone the Civil Guard patrols arrested more than 100 illegal immigrants. We can now add three more to this number. They were found during a search of the same beach where last night we witnessed the arrest of 14 immigrants. 13:34
Interrogation of three by staff-sergeant: Whereabouts in Morocco are you from? (in French he answers that he does not speak Spanish) From where, Fez, Rabat? From Fez, yes. and you, where are you from? Marrakesh. And you? From Rabat. Why did you come here? To look for work. To look for work or to go across to Spain? No, no. So, you came here from Fez, Rabat and Marrakesh to look for work here. Dont you think that its a bit too far? And here there are very few job opportunities. 14:32
Once the three have been taken to the police station, the patrol goes to the port area. It has been raining and the sea is calm. But there are hardly any boats at sea. The last ferry leaves for the peninsula. (Spain) 14:55
Suddenly, a young man starts running when he sees the Civil Guard patrol car. The patrol had stopped his friends. They are Algerians from the Calamocarro camp. 15:35:
Nearby we meet an old acquaintance ....Hassan. He shows us his new shoes. They are broken, and his feet are wet. It did not take too long for him to be arrested again.. His travelling companions are all from Morocco, except for Fari, a 23 year-old Saharan. (Former Spanish colony) 15:57
FARI interrogated by staff-sergeant: You are thinking of getting a patera across to the Peninsula? Well, some way or other. And how much do they charge you to get across in a patera? I dont know. There are many traffickers and each one charges...How much do they charge, roughly? Some charge 100,000 pesetas; others 200,000. Others 50,000 pesetas. It depends. And do you have the money to go? No, I dont even have money to eat, you know. So, what do you want? I want to go there to find work. To do any job, you know. If only I could find a job for 400 pesetas I could sleep in peace, I wouldnt go around like this; I wouldnt be like this. Look at me. With a job for 400 pesetas I am not going to run. How do people live where you come from? Badly, very badly. We live in the street . Like dogs, you know. I havent slept for at least two days and tonight, where am I going to sleep? Before there were some dry cardboard boxes, but with the rain, where can you find somewhere to sleep? 17:37
Yet again they will be returned to Morocco. And yet again they will be back. There is no truce when you are driven by basic need. 18:00
During the day, on beaches like this one in Benzu, on the border with Morocco, the number of beached pateras catches our attention. This image is repeated all along the coast. The patera is inevitably associated with illegal activities, in particular, the trade in illegal immigrants. So much so that at times we forget that in the Strait, they are traditionally used for fishing. What is difficult is to control their use. 18:37
The construction and sale of pateras is regulated. They cost about half a million pesetas. In the city there are 4 authorised boatyards, and an undetermined number of clandestine ones which were thrown up as a result of the boom in the illegal immigration trade. 18:52
The work in the legalised workshops such as this one is monitored by the Port Authorities, and the boats must fulfil certain requirements. They cannot be sold without the relevant registration number, a papers with the name of the owner, and a full description of their features. Nevertheless, the owner of this particular workshop declined to be filmed, for fear of reprisals by those who control the illegal side of the business. 19:24
We decided to visit another workshop, recently legalised. Here we were not made welcome. 19:51
In this shed in the harbour they keep the pateras confiscated by the police and the Civil Guard. So far this year they have confiscated more than one hundred, twice the number confiscated during the whole of last year. Many do not have a registration number. A quick dab with a brush is enough to paint out the number before putting to sea. It is all part of the game. This way, if the patera is intercepted it will be impossible to find out who the owner is. The documentation of this patera will then be used for another patera of identical characteristics, which can be acquired illegally. All it needs is for the same registration number to be painted on again. 20:32
It has started to rain. As we are about to leave the port, some groups of young North Africans attract our attention. They are wandering among the lorry trailers and some get underneath. 20:46
They all tell us that they want to get to Spain or other countries in Europe because in Marocco theres no work, so they will get across by climbing into cars & lorries, or hiding away on a boat. 21:34
They arrived 16 days ago. Since then, theyve been living in the street. They have no money. Their only way of getting across to the Spanish mainland is as stowaways on a boat or by hiding in a lorry. 22:51
This is another way to get across. Undoubtedly cheaper than via patera, but no less dangerous. 23:05
EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, LORRY DRIVER: I have had to remove 10 immigrants from the lorry. With the Civil Guard, of course, and it is all very upsetting. The other day, last week, well, this one actually, an immigrant hid under the trailer and as I was about to get on the ferry, well, his legs were being dragged along the ground). If the Civil Guard hadnt told me, I could have killed him. And that is very sad. 23:43
Before embarking, lorries have to pass through customs.Theres one here 25:19
Detainee is taken away No-one is surprised. Neither the lorry driver nor the Civil Guard. Not even the detainee. He did not make it today but perhaps some day.... 25:31
The activity in the port never stops. New groups of youngsters approach. The Civil Guard tries with little success to drive them away from the port installations. 25:51
Among the group there are some children. The youngest is Anas. He is only 12. Despite his age he tells us, with disarming charm, as if it were all a game, the he had been to Granada, Cordoba, Madrid and many other cities. The Spanish police caught him stealing and sent him back to Morocco. With a bit of luck, he says, hell go back to the peninsula hidden in a lorry. 26:15
ANAS:I like Spain. My home is nice but I like Spain, it is better there: to study, eat , the clothes and everything. 26:33
Increasing numbers of Maghrebi children, like Anas, are arriving in Andalucia. Last year 57 were placed in various centres for children. For minors expulsion is more complicated. Many are forced to go across by their own parents. 26:50
ANAS: What do your parents think about you going to Spain? They said to go and earn a better living there. They told me; my brother and all the family. One of my brothers called Mohamed says you can go to Spain and get the papers and everything. He says there it is better to study and speak Spanish, English and everything, and Italian. My brother told me if I want, it is better there. He also wants to go. 27:22
Outside, around the port, other groups of young people wait for their chance. 27:37
He prefers not to tell his real name and gives us any name, Faisal, for instance. He tells us how he managed to enter Ceuta, through the mountains, over the border. 27:49
FAISAL:They come from Algeria, Casablanca and everywhere. It is difficult to get into Ceuta. You have to pay money to someone and go with them; pay the Mehani in Morocco, like the Civil Guard. You have to give money to the Mehani to get in. We dont pay. They say give 5 dirhans, we say OK and then (gesticulating) we run, get away, and shout hey, another day, some day youll run faster, and give us a hiding. It is always like that; every day the same. If local policemen pick us up and take us to the border, after 5 minutes were back in again. 28:33
We decided to go and see the perimeter fence. We are surprised to see next to it a complex of warehouse sheds. This is as close as we can get to the border because the public works undertaken to make it less accessible are classified as a military secret. The mountains we see beyond the sheds are the mountains that separate Ceuta from Morocco. There are several groups of people hoping to get across. As Faisal told us, there are two ways: either bribe the Mehanis, the Moroccan officials, or give them the slip. 29:11
On the Spanish side, for the last few days, the army has also been guarding the new border fence. As we filmed this, only the Civil Guard was on duty. 29:26:
Guarding the 8 km of mountains that form the frontier is a complicated task. Daily, hundreds of Moroccan citizens try to enter and exit without going through customs. They do it in order to buy all kind of things which they then sell back home. In the same way, others whose aim is to cross the Strait also get though. 29:49
These are the frontiers of Europe. The walls and barbed-wire fences we have erected to protect outselves from being sullied or contaminated by the misery of those trying to escape hunger and despair. Barriers which have proved ineffectual in stopping what even the sea is unable to stop. 30:15
At night the peddlars of hopes and dreams begin their work. There is no moon. Several empty pateras have left the Benzu beach. We dont know if the contraband will be hashish or human beings. The networks are the same. The noise of the engine betrays the presence of one of the boats. The crew know they have been seen, change direction and head towards the port. The Civil Guard closes in by sea and air. The pilot is arrested as he jumps out the patera. There is no crime, only a fine for failure to display a registration number. In this case not even that, because the detainee is a Moroccan without papers. Tomorrow he will be sent back home. The Civil Guard managed to abort this particular operation. But many manage to reach the Andalusian coast every day. In the worst case, the smuggler loses his boat, and the immigrants their hard-earned savings, their dreams and, sometimes, their lives.