An update from our team in #Melilla (Spain): over the last two weeks, we have continued to carry out our project of social intervention with people on the move living in the street here.
We use the Skate Park as a common space to offer recreational activities, playing games of Jenga and football, and sharing positive interactions with the guys. Meanwhile, the migratory situation here on the ground remains unchanged.
And the Guardia Civil admits as much: when the sound of sirens and a helicopter alerted us to their activities along the fence with Morocco just last week, as we tried to get closer to properly observe, a Guardia Civil stopped us, claiming that this was just ‘business as normal’.
‘Business as normal’ consists of a deadly combination of racial and economic inequality, police violence, and inhumane border policy, which forces people on the move to risk their lives.
It is what forced the older brother of a 16-year-old boy in the Skate Park - just as it did him - to risk his life, swimming for hours to get to Melilla from Morocco. He drowned in the sea, and the boy is left scrolling through the photos and stories posted by grieving friends and family members on Facebook and Instagram.
However, we do have some good news this week: the Spanish government has passed a new law, which will help facilitate the obtention of documents, and speed up the regularisation process in the long term.
Help us to continue to support people on the move: teaming.net/solidarywheels
Comments