Since the beginning of the week, the authorities in Ceuta estimate that between 8 and 10,000 people have entered the Spanish enclave from Morocco, in the middle of a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Among these migrants, there are very many minors. Residents are mobilizing to provide news about the latter to their families.
With our special correspondent in Ceuta, Magali Lagrange
Two young Moroccans are sitting in front of the sea in the middle of the afternoon. None of them speak French, English or Spanish. But one of them manages to make himself understood. He wants to use a phone so that he can send a message to his mother via WhatsApp.
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A request that was also met by Abdeslam Mohamed, president of Alas Protectoras, a non-governmental organization that helps children, which also carries out actions across the border, in Morocco. He currently uses social media so that families can meet.
“I use my Facebook page to find children who are lost, or whose families have not heard of, because they do not have a phone to call. They are young minors. ”
Moroccan families send him pictures of young people he posts on his wall and hope that people from Ceuta who follow him will be able to recognize them.
“For example, this young girl you see here, she wants to go back to Morocco. But the state can not send her like that, she is a minor. There must be a parent for that. There’s also this boy I’m looking for, but I have not found him yet. He comes from Oued Laou. This one comes from Castillejos and we are also looking for him ”.
Abdeslam Mohamed continues to browse through the images on his phone screen. He says that his publications have made it possible for about 50 families to trace their children so far.
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