“Thousands of people have tried to throw themselves into the sea, in many cases going several miles out to sea and swimming for up to ten hours“This is the migratory drama that is taking place off the Spanish coast and that has been accentuated during the month of August. It is about Immigrants swimming across, skirting the Tarajal and Benzu breakwatersand who put their lives at risk. It should be noted that, At least six immigrants lost their lives this summer trying to swim to Ceuta via the breakwaters.
The strategy of these immigrants, explains the Unified Association of the Civil Guard (AUGC), is to throw themselves into the sea from the beaches that are several kilometers from the Tarajal breakwater, going several miles out to sea to avoid being detected (also taking advantage of the dense fog in summer and the strong easterly storms in winter). And although during the last weeks of Augustor the Moroccan Army reinforced surveillance on its sandbanksthe situation has become unsustainable. Because now we have to fight against a new problem: calls on social media to cross the border en masse. The latest one, for the early hours of this Sunday, September 15.
This was communicated by the Secretary General of AUGC in Ceuta, Rachid Sbihise, to the Government delegate in this Autonomous City, Cristina Pérez Valero. A meeting in which the agents stressed the need for Moroccan authorities collaborate with the Spanish authoritiesas has happened in recent weeks, where the Moroccan Gendarmerie has deployed a large number of agents on its beaches.
Breakwaters of “death” and their deterrent effect
From this association they point out that This migratory phenomenon must be stopped at its sourcesince once the immigrants are thrown into the sea in this way, the only thing that the civil guards can do is “come to their rescue to prevent them from drowning as unfortunately has been happening with the appearance of corpses on our coasts“.
For all these reasons, they consider that lthe extension of the so-called breakwaters of “death” and “shame”would be one of the key measures to be taken, as well as the provision of support infrastructures for the Maritime Service and GEAS on its beaches. Because, in his opinion, it is necessary to reinforce the presence with more surveillance and thus also cause “a deterrent effect”.
And all this with the help of the Moroccan police. What would happen if the neighbouring country decided to reduce the number of security personnel on its beaches in the future? The situation would be uncontrollable, as already happened in February 2014, when 300 sub-Saharan Africans tried to run around the jetty in the middle of the night and at low tide. Fifteen of them died from being crushed. Seven years later, this association of civil guards recalls, there were many who experienced how entire families walked around the Tarajal breakwater, without having to swim.
Call effect on networks: September 15
For this reason, in anticipation of Morocco stepping aside, the AUGC has been requesting for years that the breakwaters be extended. Nor does what is coming out on social media, where they are going viral, help. Videos and messages encouraging people to swim across the Tarajal jetty in the early hours of Sunday, September 15. On this occasion – they explain – it was possible to give advance notice and thus deploy a series of reinforcements that are already arriving in the city.
Meanwhile, the Moroccan authorities have increased control and surveillance in the town closest to Ceuta, Castillejos (Fnideq). They installed dozens of fences weeks ago to make access to the beach difficult and it should be remembered that last Wednesday 60 people arrested between Tangier and Tetouan, suspected of creating and spreading “fake news” on social media that incites the organization of “massive illegal immigration operations,” according to Moroccan police.
These situations show that the number of agents is insufficient in the face of massive arrivals of immigrants by sea, as is the case with the fencing of the border perimeter, where hundreds of immigrants arrive from sub-Saharan Africa. The reinforcements are a mere patch and, in many cases, there is no time to respond, as they take too long to arrive from other parts of Spain.
Civil guards, overwhelmed
“It is necessary to increase the number of staff and provide the Civil Guards with sufficient resources so that they can carry out their work. The agents have been overwhelmed, having to face High stress situations with enormous physical and psychological strain“, warns AUGC in response to the abandonment of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez and his Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
Finally, they demand that the Civil guards within the high-risk profession“This step is vital to ensure that they receive the protection and respect they deserve for their dedication and sacrifice in the performance of their duties,” they add. They also ask that the law be implemented Special Singularity Zone (ZES) in Ceuta due to all the migratory phenomena, drug trafficking and human trafficking, and thus proceed to increase material and human resources and incentivize the personnel who are stationed in Ceuta.