(Photo by Sergi Camara Loscos)
Swelled by war and economic impoverishment, the number of people trying to make their way from Africa to Europe has grown dramatically. Thousands have attempted to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea, often from Libya, with hundreds drowning in the process when overfilled boats capsize. Others, like those pictured above outside the city of Melilla, have tried to reach European soil by land. Few people know that there are two Spanish cities on the coast of Morocco—Melilla and Ceuta—the only European enclaves remaining in Africa. Like walled towns of old, the two cities have surrounded themselves with layers of fences to keep out the unwanted. Many of the Africans who manage to scale the fences and make it to Spanish soil are deported, but some are granted political or economic asylum. The slim hope of that happening is enough to fuel the dreams of thousands of Africans.
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