Spain secures deals to repatriate hundreds of would-be immigrants stranded in Moroccan desert lands, Serene Assir reports Following near daily, mostly failed attempts by scores of would-be immigrants to cross from Morocco into the Spanish North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla over the past fortnight, Spanish authorities agreed with governments of their countries of origin to have them repatriated. The process has, however, been temporarily frozen under intense pressure, reportedly to ensure that it is carried out humanely. According to Spanish media, the majority of the migrants who are currently in Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla originate in Mali and Senegal. Many have travelled for up to four years and suffered extreme and harsh conditions before reaching the fence that separates Morocco from the Spanish enclaves, or rather Africa from the European Union. Once they reached the gate to perceived freedom, the migrants for the most part failed to cross over. The few who did make it into Ceuta or Melilla did so by seeking out areas of the fence that were relatively unguarded, using makeshift ladders made from tree branches and ropes to climb over. When the migrants had started to climb over in waves, however, Madrid sent the military along with the Civil Guard to guard the border. On the Moroccan side, Rabat intensified its control over the area too. Nonetheless, the sheer number of migrants made it nigh impossible for patrols to be effective. Troops positioned on both sides of the border were simply overwhelmed. It was in this context that tragedy began to unfold. Reports began to surface of numerous human rights abuses of varying nature and severity. Over the first few days of the crisis, three, five and then another six would-be migrants were shot dead on separate days as they tried to cross the three-metre high fence that separates the Spanish enclaves from Morocco. The first eight were killed on trying to enter Ceuta, the other six at Melilla. It remains unclear which authorities fired the fatal shots. The fact that those killed were shot in the back suggests that the bullets came from the Moroccan side. Neither side is keen on blaming the other for fear of intensifying an already fraught situation at a time when Rabat and Madrid have been enjoying uncommonly friendly diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, the focus over the last few days has been on the hundreds of Sub-Saharan Africans whom Morocco left stranded in the desert on the border with Algeria with no facilities or amenities. The Spanish branch of the global non- governmental organisation Doctors without Borders (MSF) has been involved in an intense rescue operation in this area and has repeatedly denounced the inhumanity of Rabat's decision to leave the would-be migrants to the elements rather than seeking to deal with the situation through diplomacy. Under pressure, Rabat finally decided to tend to the problem. Latest reports suggest that 1,000 would-be migrants regrouped at Uxda -- also near the border with Algeria -- were to be repatriated on Sunday. And although the majority of migrants originate in Mali and Senegal, it so far remains unclear just how many other countries are involved. MSF has reported that many of the migrants it has encountered originate in Cameroon. On the Spanish side of the border, Spanish television channel Tele 5 broadcast last weekend a video showing Civil Guard troops mercilessly beating a man of Sub-Saharan origin after he made it over the fence. Covered in wounds from the barbed wire, the man was treated in a way reminiscent of the abuse of Iraqis at the hands of occupation soldiers. The Spanish Ministry of Defence has requested a copy of the video, so as to be able to investigate the incident. On Saturday morning, Spain moved to transfer a small number of migrants in line with a 1992 agreement between Madrid and Rabat that allows for repatriation regardless of the detail of individual cases. Seventy-three Sub-Saharans were expelled from Melilla to Tanger, the Spanish broadsheet El Pais reported. According to government statements, they would be repatriated via Morocco. Nonetheless, following intense public and media pressure to deal with the situation humanely, the Spanish government announced Sunday that it had frozen the repatriation process for the time being, and that it would consider cases individually. Media reports of abuses have not subsided, however. The Catalan daily El Periodico recounted Sunday the plight of the 73 in Tanger. They are staging a hunger strike in protest of their treatment. Allegedly, they were forced to sign untranslated documents acceding to their repatriation -- documents allegedly exonerating Madrid of any blame for expelling them. In line with this comes Madrid's new policy of direct repatriation. Rather than expelling illegal immigrants through Morocco -- where, as recent events have proven, they are likely to face human rights abuses -- the Spanish authorities have brokered deals to send them directly back to their countries of origin. Nevertheless, given that they are under the spotlight, it is unlikely that authorities will repatriate migrants any time soon. Global society communities have been keenly focussed on the developing crisis. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed his concern and the Madrid office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) requested access to camps in Ceuta and Melilla where hundreds of migrants are reportedly receiving treatment and where they wait to see their fate unfold. Antonio Guterres, UNHCR head in Spain, said he would work to ensure that all those who deserve asylum status would be tended to. He added, however, that the majority in this given instance are probably economic rather than political migrants. Public debate in Spain has focussed on the shoddy way that both the Moroccan and the Spanish authorities have dealt with a situation; one that could have been averted or, at least, dealt with more humanely. One leftist website, www.rebelion.org, criticises both governments for having responded to the situation as though it were totally new and surprising, while the majority of migrants have been travelling towards the border fence for years. Much criticism has been also directed against the EU for failing to avert or treat the economic crises that are multiplying across the African continent. Many are suggesting that global economic injustice is the real cause of the problem -- the last fortnight's events at the Spanish-Moroccan border simply a reflection of intolerable hardships borne by the wretched of the earth. On Sunday, hundreds of people demonstrated in central Madrid in a show of support for the migrants. The protesters also criticised Spain's collaboration with Morocco, despite knowledge of human rights abuses in the North African country. They painted their faces white and red and lay on the ground, symbolising deaths that had occurred at the border. Meanwhile, it would appear that what has happened is merely the tip of an iceberg. The Spanish government had been increasing the height of the fence that separates its enclaves from Morocco to six metres for added security. This would appear the reason why so many Sub-Saharans decided to test their luck now, crossing into the EU by land rather than by far more frequently used, but infamously dangerous, sea routes. In response to events, Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso announced that Spain intends to place extra obstacles in the no man's land that separates the two fences that demarcate the border. The real issue, however, is whether Spain or the West can respond to the forces that pushed so many from Africa to the doorstep of the EU.
