Living Inbetween
In a previous post, I mentioned how Ceuta's population is neatly divided into two major religious categories, Muslim and Christian. Nonetheless, both communities are largely Spanish residents and/or citizens. It is a sentence that highlights Ceuta current demographics - the religious divide doesn't necessarily reflect an ethnic parallel. In comparison, those with a European cultural background have better odds at accessing economic and social wealth than those with a Moroccoan one; yet those who bear the consequences of the frontier and of ethnic discrepancies are those living inbetween continents.
On a daily basis, the frontier sees an average of ten thousand people crossing from Morocco to Ceuta. For the great majority, this is a twenty-minute commute to work that includes the crossing of a border between nations and political continents. Drawing parallels, employees living in northern Italy or Southern France who work in Switzerland go through the same daily process - a common commute that involves crossing into a different nation-state. Except, rules seem to be steadily applied to that particular example, giving commuters a somewhat uneventful routine. Ceuta's frontier isn't exactly as predictable; but as most politically unpredictable places, it is very difficult to hear any news about it regardless of which side of the frontier you live in.
I began giving alphabetization classes to Moroccan women last week. The project, funded and lead by Alfaigualate, provides 120 women with free language classes for nine months, the aim is to provide education and empower disadvantaged women, allowing them to enter the local economy with the sufficient skills to avoid exploitation. Out of 120 women who were accepted, less than half showed up. All of the presents were residents of Ceuta. The rest got stuck behind a fence that had decided quite suddenly that, for the week, only a small percentage of the daily commuters was allowed into Europe. Between the stories I have heard from these women and the silence of the media, I will go ahead and draw an unofficial conclusion. My methodology is based on halving the reports I collected from my students, as I cannot get any official source regarding the issue. This week "la frontiera esta mala" (the frontier is bad); people were allowed in only between 9am and 10am; papers proving employment refused or torn apart; people waiting in line for more than four hours hoping to get in; and three people died either because they were stamped over by a frustrated crowd, or by dehydration. About one eight of those not allowed in probably lost their job as they were unable to reach their employment location. No explanations were given. The frontier is still impossible to cross this days.
We have to consider these women as employees of Spanish business living abroad. Three-quarters of the people that work at the UN headquarters in Geneva have a similar daily occurrence, as most of them actually reside in France. In the midst of these ten thousand commuters, there are illegal immigrants trying to cross into Europe, as well as merchandise smugglers. But hey, it is the reality of nation-state borders: there are honest employees, and there are those with ulterior motives. Seen the reality of Ceuta as Europe's first gate, I would want to believe that this is a rather daily occurrence and that staff at the frontier is highly trained to deal with this kind of issues. As such, a sudden shut down of the frontier is unthinkable without a proper, justifiable and legitimate reason.
It doesn't appear to be so. I'd love for this example to be the first and last; nevertheless, as El Pais highlights, the same events happened in August. That's the only article I could find. It is a knowledge held by many men and women living between political continents; one day I might die on my way to work because of a frustrated waiting crowd. One day I won't be allowed in, and my precarious job will be lost forever, along with those 10 euros a day that feeds my whole family. One day the papers that prove my employment eligibility will be torn apart with no explanation.
This is not to say that such reality could never happen at another European border. However, I do reckon that any citizen of the EU would file a suit and win a large compensation for the unjustified infringement of his or her basic human rights. People crossing the frontier here in Ceuta have no legal or social entitlement to this: they're part of the ghost workforce that makes cities and nations thrive thanks to their lack of education and acknowledgement of their own human rights. They are the victims of Ceuta social integration ideal, which serves those who already have citizenship rights, but fails at those that make the city go round every day. Convivencia is a nice goal; the reality is much more discriminatory. More on Living Inbetween next week, as the frontier blockage develops.
More info:
The life of Fronteritas
An impossible barrier
On a daily basis, the frontier sees an average of ten thousand people crossing from Morocco to Ceuta. For the great majority, this is a twenty-minute commute to work that includes the crossing of a border between nations and political continents. Drawing parallels, employees living in northern Italy or Southern France who work in Switzerland go through the same daily process - a common commute that involves crossing into a different nation-state. Except, rules seem to be steadily applied to that particular example, giving commuters a somewhat uneventful routine. Ceuta's frontier isn't exactly as predictable; but as most politically unpredictable places, it is very difficult to hear any news about it regardless of which side of the frontier you live in.
I began giving alphabetization classes to Moroccan women last week. The project, funded and lead by Alfaigualate, provides 120 women with free language classes for nine months, the aim is to provide education and empower disadvantaged women, allowing them to enter the local economy with the sufficient skills to avoid exploitation. Out of 120 women who were accepted, less than half showed up. All of the presents were residents of Ceuta. The rest got stuck behind a fence that had decided quite suddenly that, for the week, only a small percentage of the daily commuters was allowed into Europe. Between the stories I have heard from these women and the silence of the media, I will go ahead and draw an unofficial conclusion. My methodology is based on halving the reports I collected from my students, as I cannot get any official source regarding the issue. This week "la frontiera esta mala" (the frontier is bad); people were allowed in only between 9am and 10am; papers proving employment refused or torn apart; people waiting in line for more than four hours hoping to get in; and three people died either because they were stamped over by a frustrated crowd, or by dehydration. About one eight of those not allowed in probably lost their job as they were unable to reach their employment location. No explanations were given. The frontier is still impossible to cross this days.
We have to consider these women as employees of Spanish business living abroad. Three-quarters of the people that work at the UN headquarters in Geneva have a similar daily occurrence, as most of them actually reside in France. In the midst of these ten thousand commuters, there are illegal immigrants trying to cross into Europe, as well as merchandise smugglers. But hey, it is the reality of nation-state borders: there are honest employees, and there are those with ulterior motives. Seen the reality of Ceuta as Europe's first gate, I would want to believe that this is a rather daily occurrence and that staff at the frontier is highly trained to deal with this kind of issues. As such, a sudden shut down of the frontier is unthinkable without a proper, justifiable and legitimate reason.
It doesn't appear to be so. I'd love for this example to be the first and last; nevertheless, as El Pais highlights, the same events happened in August. That's the only article I could find. It is a knowledge held by many men and women living between political continents; one day I might die on my way to work because of a frustrated waiting crowd. One day I won't be allowed in, and my precarious job will be lost forever, along with those 10 euros a day that feeds my whole family. One day the papers that prove my employment eligibility will be torn apart with no explanation.
This is not to say that such reality could never happen at another European border. However, I do reckon that any citizen of the EU would file a suit and win a large compensation for the unjustified infringement of his or her basic human rights. People crossing the frontier here in Ceuta have no legal or social entitlement to this: they're part of the ghost workforce that makes cities and nations thrive thanks to their lack of education and acknowledgement of their own human rights. They are the victims of Ceuta social integration ideal, which serves those who already have citizenship rights, but fails at those that make the city go round every day. Convivencia is a nice goal; the reality is much more discriminatory. More on Living Inbetween next week, as the frontier blockage develops.
More info:
The life of Fronteritas
An impossible barrier
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