Extra Travelers
Before I departed for Morocco in May I read an article about a young boy found alive in a suitcase. He was caught when the security agents spotted him in the x-ray machine. Thankfully the child was just dehydrated but a recent death of another man found in a suitcase bound for Spain illustrates just how dangerous this journey can be.
Spain faces similar illegal immigration problems from Morocco as the United States does with Mexico. Spain is only a short ferry ride away from Morocco and you can clearly see it in the distance from Tangier. According to the Spanish interior ministry the number of people caught trying to illegally cross the border into Spain rose by 70% in 2014 with 7,472 people caught in 2013 and 12,549 caught in 2014. My study abroad class witnessed this immigration issue first hand. I was trying to take a nap on our bus when I was awoken by shouting and loud banging noises outside. We were at a rest stop and apparently a couple sub Saharan Africans tried climbing under our bus so they could hitch a ride closer to the border and make their way to Spain. Lucky for them they were spotted. Mohammed our Moroccan bus driver was familiar with this practice and was able to get them to wedge themselves out from behind the axel and come out from under the bus. These extra travelers were not happy but Mohammed did his best to explain to them we were going the opposite direction. It was true our bus was not even headed for Spain so these people would’ve been putting themselves at great risk for no reason. The roads and highways in Morocco are not as well maintained as ours in America. There are lots of potholes and bumpy roads that would significantly elevate the already great risk of riding underneath a speeding bus. These people are so desperate to escape poverty that they will put themselves in extremely dangerous situations, and risk imprisonment or death.
Our ISA guide in Spain noted that Moroccans would be deported where sub-Saharan Africans may request asylum and be granted safe haven under European migration law. However Spain just recently passed a law, which allows for “rejection at the border” Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Europe, spoke out against the law as “trampling over the rights of vulnerable people and Spain’s own international obligations”. The Council of Europe has also informed Spain its new rules are unlawful. On Feburary 6th 2014, 14 migrants drowned after Spanish police used rubber bullets to prevent the migrants from coming into Spain. This incident brought great scrutiny from the European Union. Both America and Spain are in great need of immigration reform and only time will tell whether our countries can achieve humane and meaningful change while ensuring border security and protecting our citizens.
My experiences abroad have made me a more tolerant and understanding person. Immersing myself in a foreign culture and interacting with many people with a wide range of beliefs and ideas forced me to challenge my own ideas and opinions. The more people I met and spent time with the more I realized we are all much more similar than different. It was fascinating to me that when one mentions Morocco in Spain the locals have the same view of Morocco as I did before I visited. Morocco is less than 10 miles away from Spain and the only two things people mentioned regarding Morocco was camels and desert. People fear the unknown. Learning about other cultures in the classroom or online is necessary but I believe that to truly appreciate another culture one must become immersed in that culture. We have a responsibility to make informed decisions regarding immigration and other issues that focus on facts instead of popular opinion or false beliefs. I am very grateful for my experience and I hope that others decide to pursue a study abroad so that they may grow as I have grown and apply their experiences to their careers, relationships, political philosophies, and more.