48 – To Cross the Sea
2023 No 48
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
—2 Corinthians 11:25
Morocco is home to perhaps a million migrants. For most, the country was intended only to be a waypoint, a stepping stone on the pathway to Europe. But the vast majority of those travelers became stranded along the way, and that which was once considered a place of transition has now become a final destination. The dream of Europe may abide, but the reality of North Africa cannot be avoided.
It would seem that one of the keys to getting to Europe is persistence. Those who quit in the face of suffering typically do not go very far. Those who remain steadfast seem always to move forward, even if it takes years. Everyone has a story, and one must be careful when one asks a migrant to tell theirs. Often it is a tale of struggle, one of conflict, and one of tenacious hope.
When Paul told his story, it was always in the context of the goodness of God. Even the hardest of days were seasoned by God's love and grace. I think he would have been a great missionary to sub-Saharan migrants. Why? Perhaps it is because his experiences were similar to those of the migrants today. His story came from his desire to share the hope of life with a lost world. Their stories come out of their search for life. But in both cases, Satan does all in his power to oppose the effort. Barriers have always existed, and few are larger than the Mediterranean Sea. Even in Paul’s day, this body of water was a dangerous place to be in a boat. That has not changed much today.
At almost every turn in this blog series, we bump into migrant boats. Such is not surprising. Each of our migration routes must ultimately cross the Mediterranean, and those crossings typically involve a boat of some kind. The Western Route is the same, except for the level of risk. The pathway into Spain has long been considered the most dangerous migration route in the world. Of those who make an attempt, perhaps only one in five is successful. By some estimates, three others are lost at sea. Our goal in this article is to break that down a bit and to view one of these crossing attempts through the eyes of a migrant.
Samuel
When Samuel came to Morocco, he flew direct from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). His country is divided by over a hundred rebel groups seeking control and power in the contemporary political scene.3 When fighting displaced his family to the capital city of Kinshasa, they found it very hard to make ends meet. He had a cousin living in Spain who had attended the university in Madrid. Samuel learned through him that jobs could be found in Spain... if he could get there. Such can be difficult. Why? Because Spain does not grant visas to refugees from the DRC.
But Samuel learned that he could get a tourist visa to Morocco. From Tangiers, he could then catch a boat directly to Tarifa in Spain. Once there, the government would be obligated to process his asylum request. If he were successful, great. That would mean the EU would be compelled to pay for his support. But if not, he would slide into obscurity and join his cousin in Madrid. For Samuel, it was a win-win proposition. This kind of trip is considered a “door-to-door” package and generally can be accomplished in less than a week.4 The total cost is high, upwards of 6,000 euros. But, of all the options, it has some of the highest success rates. At least, that is what the smugglers told Samuel.
I met Samuel on the streets of Tangiers. This is a city where migrants work, scrape for money, and plan their trips across the Mediterranean. Samuel was there, as you might have discerned, because his trip did not go as he had hoped. When he first arrived, everything seemed to be going exactly as planned. He landed in Casablanca, and someone was waiting for him at the airport. Together they took a train to Tangiers, where he stayed in an obscure hotel while waiting for passage across the Mediterranean.
Spain in the Distance 5
Samuel recounted that the situation in Tangiers was almost surreal. He could see the Rock of Gibraltar on the Spanish coastline from his room. It was his first time to view the ocean, and he was not far from a nearby beach. One day, the weather was clear enough that he could see houses on the hillside across the water. The closeness gave him a sense of assurance. He realized that he was very fortunate. He had heard the stories of those who had to pass through the desert and then get into rubber rafts off the coast of Libya. Samuel was not rich, but he was better off than most. He also felt a sense of responsibility for his family. They were still in Kinshasa, and this effort had consumed almost all of the family finances. But he was so close that he could touch it. What could possibly go wrong? Within twenty-four hours, he would ask a different question… how could everything have possibly gone so terribly wrong?
Samuel's story is not unlike others we have told. His handlers picked him up around noon on his fifth day in Morocco. They drove him to a secluded area outside the city and dropped him off with four other men. They were to make their way to the beach and stay out of sight until after dark. At that point, they would receive a phone call from the person who would take them to Spain. Each carried a small pack of their possessions… and a life jacket. The smugglers told them not to bring anything made of metal for fear they would t be detected by Moroccan radar.6
Around ten o’clock that evening, they received a call on their phone. They were instructed to watch the water for a boat that flashed a red light. When they saw the light, they were told to get as close to the boat as possible. The beach where they were hiding was too rocky to land a boat. Once they were lined up with the boat, they were to swim out where it was anchored. Samuel didn't really know how to swim, but with the life jacket, he and the other men made it to the boat. The captain instructed them to stay low and not do anything that could attract attention. In particular, they were to turn off their cell phones so the coast guard could not track their signals. With that, they set off for what should have been an hour-long trip across the strait.
It was not until later that Samuel truly understood the risks of his trip. The currents in the Strait of Gibraltar move quickly and are often unpredictable. Inexperienced captains will use a light on the distant shore as a heading. The problem is that the currents can drift a boat away from that light at a speed faster than the boat can go. Such is very difficult to discern in the darkness of night. Once they pass a certain point, the boat becomes incapable of reaching the other shore and will drift into the open Atlantic. A second problem is the sheer number of commercial vessels passing through the strait daily. On some days, that number can exceed 300! A small boat seeking to evade radar in the dark can easily collide with one of these much larger vessels, with catastrophic results.
Samuel and his companions had terrible luck with both of the above challenges. The captain seemed aware of the situation and was making his way quickly through the faster currents. He had set his course well upstream, thus compensating for the movements of the water. What he could not predict was the large container ship that crossed their pathway. They could see its lights from a distance, but by the time they realized they were on a collision course, it was too late. They could not slow down to allow the ship to pass. They would drift into the Atlantic. If they turned more into the current and tried to go behind the ship, they would not have enough fuel to make the other side. Their only hope was to stay on course and avoid the ship when the time came.
The captain did an admirable job of timing. When they were close to the container ship, they turned slightly to let it pass and then attempted to cross behind it. Unfortunately, the wake was too much for their small boat, and they took in a lot of water. They nearly capsized. Although the motor continued to run, the extra weight slowed them down and put them in a precarious situation. They tried to bail out the water, but it soon became evident that they could not make the other shore. They had no other choice but to signal for help with their flashlights.
Samuel shared his amazement at how fast the Moroccan Coast Guard responded to the call from the container ship. Within fifteen minutes, they were at their side, and they were rescued. Samuel, his four companions, and the captain were returned to Morocco. He assumed that everyone would be arrested and that he might even be deported back to the DRC. He recounted that as they returned to Tangiers, he began to weep, wondering how he could face his family, having failed to reach Spain, and having spent all their money.
They were taken to a detention center that evening, and the following day he was released into the custody of representatives of a non-governmental organization working with migrants.9 They offered Samuel the opportunity to return to the DRC. When he asked what would happen if he turned down the offer, they told him that he would be released. To avoid the shame of his family, he walked out of the center and back into the streets of Tangiers. Only now, he did not have a valid visa… only now he was illegal.
When I met Samuel, he was trying to raise money for another crossing. He was living in a small, rented apartment with five other men. He had maintained connections with the NGO and was getting food and clothing from them. He was also active in one of the local churches, taking advantage of their benevolence programs. He was willing to tell me his story, but he was always looking for ways that I might be able to "help" him. In fact, it took a while before he would share without being “paid” for his story. His cousin had sent him money a few times, but something always seemed to happen, and it would be lost.
Conclusion
It is evident that the government is trying to control the movements of migrants across the Mediterranean. They put significant pressure on those living in Morocco's northern territories. Raids of migrant apartments are not uncommon. During those raids, the police tend to confiscate everything of value the migrant might possess. If they can find their stash of money, they take it. Samuel claimed that this had happened to him several times.
I still stand amazed at the persistence of men such as Samuel. The risks are high, but they are not dissuaded. In some respects, they do not have much of a choice. For most, going home is not an option. Those who find their way to Morocco do so by paying a substantial fee. Those resources were often paid for by their family and entrusted to a son for the survival of all. I cannot emphasize how much of an obligation these men feel and the shame that comes with failure.
Most of these migrants are young men who have demonstrated the strength, courage, and resolve to find a way to Europe. For many, they cannot see themselves making Morocco their home. Thus, the only option left is to move forward. They are tenacious survivors. As long as they can see Spain from Moroccan beaches, as long as Europe holds a glimmer of hope, they will continue to take significant risks to get there.
Samuel shared with me that for every five boats that attempt to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, only one, maybe two, will make it to Spain. Only one, maybe two, will turn back to Morocco. The rest will be lost at sea. Most of those who fall back on African beaches will not find the resources necessary for a second trip. Those who do will face the same risks. In the end, so many will ultimately become a part of the resident migrant population in Morocco.
1 The view from North Africa. Photo taken by author.
2 This is a stock image of a man from the DRC. I have used this photo to represent Samuel. Using his actual photo could place him at risk. See "Democratic Republic of the Congo", United Nations https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/democratic-republic-congo (accessed February 14, 2023).
3 See "Instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo", Global Conflict Tracker https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo (accessed February 14, 2023).
4 Arezo Malakooti; Chiara Fall, Migration Trends across the Mediterranean: Piecing Together the Shifting Dynamics (Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), 2020), 33.
5 View of Spain. Photo taken by author.
6 Ibid., 49.
7 Shipping Containers in the Strait of Gibraltar. Photo taken by author.
8 Fall, 45.
9 I have intentionally avoided ONG simply because they are still active in Morocco.