"The Authorities Do Not Want Objective Observers"

A report recently published by "Doctors without Borders" shows that most of the medical treatment required by immigrants was the result of acts of violence committed by Moroccan and Spanish police. An interview with Frederico Barroela, the organisation's director

For two years now the humanitarian aid organization "Doctors without Borders" has been working with immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa in various regions of Morocco. In addition to its head office in the capital Rabat, the organization now has projects in Nador near the Spanish enclave Melilla, in Oujda on the Algerian border, and in Tangiers.

Last weekend you were in southern Morocco to inspect the living conditions of immigrants detained in military barracks.

Frederico Barroela: For three days we waited in vain in front of the gate to the barracks. It is simply unbelievable, we were refused access to around 1,500 refugees who had been traveling in buses for three days. We only wanted to monitor the state of their health and inspect their accommodations. We are known as a professional organization, have looked after these people for two years, and have a right to see them. But the authorities do not want objective observers.

Where did the immigrants in this detention center come from?

Barroela: They were immigrants that Spain had deported back to Morocco along with everyone arrested by Morocco during the past few weeks along its border and in the proximity of Ceuta and Melilla. It was a collective transport. They are only being temporarily detained in the military barracks.

What do they do with the immigrants there?

Barroela: They will be flown back to their home countries.

Finding out their nationalities is probably not that easy.

Barroela: There are at least five or six different nationalities. But diplomatic representatives of the countries involved have come and are sorting out their citizens. Apparently they are being flown back to Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, or Guinea. In any case people are being driven away in buses on a regular basis.

I assume embassy representatives are needed because many immigrants like to lose their passports in order to avoid being sent back.

Barroela: You know, we don't ask them for their passports. We treat our patients and that's it. We offer immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa medical care, because as illegal immigrants they have no access to Moroccan health care. That's all we care about.

Are there so many refugees in the area of Tangiers that a medical practice is necessary?

photo: AP
The report of Doctors without Borders has created quite a stir – it showed that the migrants suffer maltreatment from Spanish and Moroccan police

​​Barroela: There may be between 1,000 and 1,500 people. The number fluctuates according to the seasons. In the summer there are more than during the winter when the sea is stormy and only very, very few boats brave the crossing to Spain. But last year the numbers increased. Increased patrols on both sides have made it more difficult to cross the strait. Immigrants are trapped, and so there are more of them. The numbers also depend on police raids, how many are arrested and deported to Oujda, and how many are sent back to Tangiers, and when.

In general, you can only offer first aid in the medical practice. What do you do with the more serious cases?

Barroela: We take the patients we cannot treat to the Moroccan hospitals.

And you have no problems doing that? Moroccans without money often have a hard time receiving the medical care they need.

Barroela: First of all, it is a matter of medical ethics. Every doctor must treat a patient who is injured. But we also supply the medication and material.

You also spent time treating immigrants hiding in the forests near Ceuta.

Barroela: The conditions there were horrendous. People were living there under inhumane conditions. Without enough food and water. Their main nourishment is rice, and so many are ill-nourished. Many children are born in the forest. While I was there around forty babies were born.

What impact have the events in Ceuta and Melilla, when eleven people were killed when they stormed the border, had?

Barroela: It has changed a lot. Immigrants had always received publicity at times, but after a while everything went on as before. Now everything has changed. Nobody can just hide and wait until the situation has calmed down again.

Does this have something to do with the improved relations between Morocco and Spain? Before the Moroccan police could simply look the other way.

Barroela: That is certainly true, but it is now no longer just a problem between Spain and Morocco. It has become a European problem. Ceuta and Melilla are on Schengen territory.

Why have immigrants only now discovered these two Spanish exclaves as a place to cross the border?

Barroela: The pressure has increased. It is more difficult to cross over by boat now, and police patrols in Morocco have increased. Refugees are harassed for months, become victims of violence and police arbitrariness, which our latest report portrays in detail. Violence against immigrants has risen dramatically in the past year. Most medical consultations are the result of the effects of violence.

A sign of the escalation in violence are the deaths at the border during the past few weeks.

Barroela: Four at least were shot by the Moroccan police. In an act of self-defense, it is said.

What do you think the Moroccan authorities should do? Morocco is not a rich industrial country that can easily absorb thousands of refugees.

Barroela: I can't say what the Moroccan government should or should not do. But refugees must be treated as human beings, and that means with respect. We are dealing here with a human drama.

Is it possible to distinguish between economic and political refugees?

Barroela: We only have to observe the facts. People are trapped here; they are victims of violence and lead a miserable life. This is something people have to realize. Immigrants see no future for themselves in their country, that's why they're here. This is what immigration is about: People go to another country to find a better life.

Interview: Alfred Hackensberger

© Qantara.de 2005

Translated from the German by Nancy Joyce

Qantara.de

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