Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The death toll from the al-Sudaniyya massacre, northwest of Gaza City, has risen to 15
Around 50 people were killed and injured in a fire that swept through a shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut
Israeli occupation army: Two soldiers from the 202nd Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade were seriously injured in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 8 killed as Israeli occupation forces targeted aid workers in the al-Sudaniyya area, northwest of Gaza City
Yemeni Armed Forces: We carried out three operations targeting Umm al-Rashrash Port, a military target in al-Naqab, and Lydd Airport with four drones
Yemeni Armed Forces: We carried out four military operations, including one targeting Lydd Airport with a Thulfiqar ballistic missile
Syria's Foreign Ministry: We welcome the US and Arab efforts aimed at resolving the current crisis peacefully.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the conflicting parties agreed on the specific steps to end the hostilities in Syria, adding that the situation is expected to be resolved tonight.
Israeli media outlet: One soldier killed and two seriously injured when a tank was targeted with an explosive device east of Gaza
Israeli fighter jets targeted the Mezzeh military airport and the Moadamiyeh al-Sham mountains with several airstrikes.

505 shots, 15 dead; the tragedy of Tarajal

  • Rosa Moro Rosa Moro
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 26 Jan 2024 23:53
  • 8 Shares
6 Min Read

Who is surprised that the International Criminal Court has sided with the genocidaires against the victims?

  • x
  • 505 shots, 15 dead; the tragedy of Tarajal
    The ICJ sided with the genocidaires; not a surprise

Who is surprised that the International Criminal Court has sided with the genocidaires against the victims? Justice in Europe is not designed for the poor. Even less for the victims that Western European states consider "third class", such as Palestinians or Africans.

10 years have passed since the Tarajal tragedy, where 15 Africans were killed while trying to swim into Ceuta.

The victims have not obtained justice. The families have not received reparations. How can they receive reparations if the bodies of their children have not even been sent to them for burial?

In Europe, this crime may be perceived as affecting only a small minority; and to some, the act of taking someone's life to "discourage immigration" seems a "proportionate deal”. This perception is often fueled by media misinformation.

In the early hours of the morning of February 6, 2014, some 300 Africans rushed in masses to try to cross the border between Morocco and Ceuta, one of Spain's enclaves on the African continent. They usually do it this way, massively, to overwhelm the Moroccan and Spanish security forces, so that no matter how much violence they use, they won’t be able to contain them all. Others, the most skillful, agile, lucky, or intrepid ones, manage to enter this enclave of Fortress Europe (which is not the Schengen area!). It is very common for the Spanish security forces to apprehend those who have managed to enter and return them to Morocco immediately, in “summary deportation;” something called in Spain “devoluciones en caliente." Morocco will continue to act as an outsourced guardian of the rich Europe.

At approximately 6 am, around 300 individuals emerged from the forests near the border where they had been stranded for months to years. Armed with floats, old inflated car tires, and life jackets, they embarked on the daunting challenge of overcoming one of the last great obstacles on their journey toward a future they have always dreamed of.

Moroccan security forces managed to arrest about 100 and slashed many of the floaters with knives. Of the 200 who overtook the Moroccans, about 90 people managed to get into the water.

Related News

'The State of Gates'... Palestinians’ lives in the West Bank are suffocated by Israeli closures

Clear Palestinian eliminationism after one year of 'Israel’s' genocide in Gaza

They had to swim over the concrete blocks separating the Moroccan and Spanish waters and reach the Tarajal beach in Ceuta (Spain).

The Guardias Civiles used anti-riot materials, such as rubber balls, detonating rounds, and smoke canisters to try to prevent those who swam in or floated as best they could from reaching the land. At first, they fired into the air, then directly at the bodies of those in the sea. As there are recordings of the events, the 505 shots of riot gear fired by the Spanish officers can be clearly counted.

There were hours of anguish, death, fear, and illegal deportations [“devoluciones en caliente”], a common practice which, although contravenes all national and international law, violates the most basic human rights, and has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, is carried out with insolence and impunity by the Spanish security forces on a regular basis.

By the end of the morning, 14 bodies were counted, 5 in Spain and 9 in Morocco. Officially 23 people were returned to Morocco immediately “en caliente” and only one person was declared missing. The identified victims were Ibrahim Keita, Armand Debordo, Dauda Dakole, Jeannot Flame, Joseph Blaise, Larios Fotio, Nane Roger Chimi, Ouman Kenzo, Oumar Ben, Samba Baye, Yves Martin and Youssouf. Alongside them in Spain, three other young men, whose bodies have not been identified, are buried. At first, the official version blamed everything on the Moroccan security forces, which is what they are paid for. But the recording of everything done forced them to admit that the Spanish security forces, far from helping those who were in danger of drowning, had fired more than 500 shots at them.

In March, the NGO Caminando Fronteras published a very detailed report of what happened, thanks to the testimonies of victims, relatives, and survivors, but the courts have never taken it into account. The families of the deceased and disappeared, together with several human rights organizations, denounced the events in court with incontrovertible evidence, testimonies, and the recording of what happened. A year later, in 2015, 16 civil guards were indicted for imprudent homicide, only of the bodies found in Spain. The case was provisionally dismissed in October of the same year. Since then, the case has been reopened three times, but the Spanish judicial authorities closed the case each time. Each closure has been appealed, until in 2020 the case was taken to the Supreme Court, which dismissed it definitively in 2022. A parliamentary commission of inquiry was also called for, but it is continually blocked by the majority parties governing Spain.

Based on the concept coined by Cameroonian historian and political scientist Achille Mbembe of Necropolitics, many organizations speak of a Necrofrontier: a border governed by policies that decide who should and should not die, taking away the very humanity of its victims.

Necropolitics is exercised on Spain's border with Morocco with total impunity and its victims are totally unprotected. Helena Maleno, migration researcher and founder of the collective Caminando Fronteras, asserts that neither she nor her team, who have been in direct contact with the families of thousands of people who have died or disappeared at our borders for more than two decades, have "never been aware of any conviction for a death at a border."

Every day, Europe tightens its border "security" measures, spends more and more money to reinforce this necropolitics and guarantees impunity for all violations of fundamental rights that take place at the necro-border. Europeans are turning their backs on this horrendous crime being committed with their public money and in their name.

On February 6, at 07.38 am, when the first shot was fired, various groups in different cities in Spain called for demonstrations to honor the memory of the victims and to say loud and clear that "we do not forget."

 

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • Occupied Palestine
  • Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
  • Palestine
  • International Court of Justice
  • Spain
  • Tarajal
  • Morocco
  • ICJP
  • Gaza
  • ICJ
Rosa Moro

Rosa Moro

Independent journalist; Founder of blog África en Mente; a member of the Madrid Committee of the Federation of Committees of Solidarity with Black Africa.

War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

All
Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025
Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

  • Analysis
  • 11 Jul 2025
Zionist infiltration of entertainment industry: The case of United Talent Agency

Zionist infiltration of entertainment industry: The case of United Talent Agency

  • Opinion
  • 11 Jul 2025
Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
The two countries need to sit down and resolve the crisis with maturity, to consider carefully that they could be being manipulated to be easily dominated. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Algeria and Mali, divided and almost conquered

Communications warfare against AES

Communications warfare against AES

This small island, already located in the southern hemisphere, belongs to Equatorial Guinea by the whims of colonization and decolonization, like the rest of African peoples and cultures. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

Annobón and Spanish-style decolonization

Biological disaster alert? No big deal

Biological disaster alert? No big deal

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS