Ceuta: African migrants face death in Spanish enclave crackdown

Ceuta has become a tragic crossing point for African migrants seeking a better life in Europe, with recent events seeing an estimated sixty thousand people surge into the Spanish enclave. The crackdown that followed left over sixty dead and more than forty thousand forcibly returned to Morocco. This grim reality has led to Ceuta being called the "Golgotha of African migrants." The article argues that the persistent tragedy of migration is fueled by deep-seated issues across Africa, including widespread unemployment, poverty, armed conflicts, and poor governance. Young Africans, driven by "a rage to leave," are willing to face death rather than remain in their home countries, which are described as lands where crises and mismanagement thrive. This desperation, the piece suggests, points to a failure of development policies to retain a capable workforce. While acknowledging the role of African leaders in failing to provide opportunities, the article also places significant responsibility on host countries. It criticizes their "wild and systematic repression" as an ineffective weapon against clandestine immigration, noting that such tactics neither deter migrants nor the smugglers who profit from the journey. The piece implies that the cycle of exploitation, where continents are "plundered" and "starved," perpetuates the migration crisis, suggesting that a fundamental shift in governance and policy is needed on both departure and arrival ends.

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Ceuta, the Golgotha of African migrants, could one say?