A view of Spain from Mount Gourougou, Morocco on October 12. Men and women trying to cross the border from Morocco into Spain often spend days and sometimes weeks in hiding. Avoid the mountain authorities before they have a chance.
Ricci Shryock for NPR
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Ricci Shryock for NPR
A view of Spain from Mount Gourougou, Morocco on October 12. Men and women trying to cross the border from Morocco into Spain often spend days and sometimes weeks in hiding. Avoid the mountain authorities before they have a chance.
Ricci Shryock for NPR
Some people spend years trying to get to Nador, Morocco – a city in the northeast of the country, bordering the Spanish city of Melilla.
It is Europe’s southernmost border and also a gateway for migrants looking for better opportunities.
Border guards line up a four-story, 20-foot fence that stretches for miles along the border. Beyond are the hills of Nador, where the migrants live. They wait there for weeks, sometimes months, for the safest time to jump over the fence.
Officials have made Nador uninhabitable for migrants, who are mostly Black. Shop owners are pressured not to sell to them, hotel owners are under pressure from Moroccan police not to rent rooms to them.
Police tactics were criticized again after dozens of people were killed trying to jump over fences in June.
Migrants and their allies describe disgusting and racist treatment from the Moroccan police. They also talked about their dream of crossing the border and finding a job to support their family.
Listen to our full report by clicking or tapping the play button above.
