Tragic Death of Moroccan Footballer While Attempting Ceuta Crossing

On July 30, 26-year-old Faten Ben Omar El Azizi drowned while trying to swim from Morocco to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. El Azizi, a midfielder for Moghreb Atlético Tetuán, had been paid only about 260 dirham (£21) for a league victory and worked part-time cleaning graves in Tétouan’s oldest cemetery. On the morning of her death, her mother Jamilla received a phone call from an official informing her that Faten’s Spanish visa had been approved and that she should collect it in Tangier. The family says Faten had not told them she was applying for a visa and they do not know what type of visa it was.

The Guardian

Morocco’s youth face severe job scarcity: nearly 40 % of people aged 15-24 were unemployed last year, and the non-agricultural private-sector minimum wage is about £270 per month. These conditions push many to seek opportunities abroad, often via dangerous irregular crossings.

The Guardian

The crossing that claimed El Azizi’s life was part of an “extraordinary mass crossing” in which at least 141 people died during the month, according to migrant-rights group Caminando Fronteras. Most of the deceased were under 35, and deaths resulted from drowning or being crushed at the border fence.

The Guardian

Jamilla describes her daughter as having become “quiet, sad and distant” in the weeks before the crossing. After the tragedy, the family searched through the night; a young man later reported that Faten had struck her head during the attempt. Jamilla could not enter the room where the bodies were kept, leaving the identification to her sister. She also learned that two of her other children had already left Morocco.

The Guardian

“Like Faten, many of my friends and myself cannot find work in our country. It’s difficult to build a future here.” — Supplied Jamilla — Jamilla, mother of Faten Ben Omar El Azizi

The Guardian