Moroccan migrant who swam to Spain says he ‘wants to go to England’ | World | News
A migrant who swam to Ceuta has said he wants to come to England. The government has been told by Reform UK and the Conservatives that immediate action needs to be taken to strengthen Britain’s borders after 60,000 people illegally crossed the border into the Spanish enclave in north Africa, which borders Morocco. Yesterday, the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said he has spoken to Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, and offered “what help we can”.
Spain announced it was installing a new barrier stretching along the breakwater fence into the sea. Officials have since added that most of those who broke into the territory from neighbouring Morocco have now returned. Reform UK home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, visited the territory yesterday and said he had spoken to migrants. He said: “I have spoken to a number of them who made it quite clear they intend to make it to Britain.”
At least 67 of the migrants have died, including some who drowned and others who were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier.
“I came to Ceuta because I want to study,” a 15-year-old migrant, Omar, told The Telegraph.
He added that he has a sister who already lives in Spain, and she is married with a daughter. The teen said he wanted to study for in Tarazona “and then maybe go to England”.
“I really like England, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love Morocco,” he added.
He does not see a future in his home country because “everything is expensive and life is difficult”.
Omar added that his parents are divorced, and his mother is raising four children on her own.
“I want to study, work and build a future for myself and for my family,” he said.
Mr Sanchez has criticised the reaction of some other European Union leaders to the events, saying calls for Spain to be suspended from the borderless Schengen zone were “driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest”.
Spanish interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said on Saturday that the country is “relentless against those who break the law”.
