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Field NewsMigrants in Morocco: “We Live Like Prehistoric Men”December 20, 2012In northwestern Morocco, in the forests of Gourougou Mountain, several hundred African migrants are living covertly in remote makeshift camps, struggling to survive, and waiting for an opportunity to enter Europe. They are mostly young men from West African countries who have left their homes because they had no way to make money and who have left behind family members who are reliant on them, in the hopes of sending back support. Having gained the trust of these migrants, who hide because they are frequently targeted by the authorities, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) conducts monthly mobile medical clinics to their camps, providing primary health care, distributions, and psychological support. 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach In order to reach his camp, which is up the mountain from the city of Nador, Abdou and other migrants have to walk a long distance. They go into the city to try to find work or to beg for a few dirhams, watching out all the while for the authorities. # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach Nador, as well as the autonomous Spanish city of Melilla on Morocco’s coast, can be seen from Gourougou Mountain. Migrants have their goal always in sight, but for most it is an unreachable one. Many of the migrants have made multiple attempts and bear scars from trying to make it over the fence into Melilla and from there across the Strait of Gibraltar and into Europe. # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach Unable to work legally in the country, when they do get work migrants are paid very low wages and are often cheated out of their pay. Consequently, they live in very poor conditions. # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach Migrants in the Gourougou are mostly young men from West Africa who say they had to leave home due to poverty and no hopes of finding a job. In Europe, they say, they have dreams of getting education and earning money to send home to their families. # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach The men gather together around small bonfires used for cooking, boiling water for tea and, above all, warming up a little in the winter. # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach Abdou’s camp is far from the road, on top of the mountain, as hidden as possible from the security forces. Migrants here hide because they are the often the targets of raids, and are frequently expelled from Nador to the border with Algeria. # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach MSF has seen a rise in the number of injuries sustained by migrants, usually from falling from the fence around Melilla or fleeing the police. Most of the health problems MSF sees are caused by the migrants having little food or water and sleeping on the ground. They often have gastrointestinal problems, skin diseases, or respiratory infections. # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach “The living conditions on the mountain push us to the fence,” said a migrant named Mussa. “Here we hardly manage to sleep or to eat and we live like prehistoric men.” # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach Mussa returns to camp after failing in his second attempt to reach Europe. He says he is going to keep on trying, though he’ll stay away from the water. Two of his friends drowned during his previous attempt to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. # 
Morocco 2012 © Anna Surinyach Migrants in Nador are settled not only in Gourougou Mountain, but also on the outskirts of town. Hidden in the bush, sheltered in precarious tents, hundreds of them are waiting to be able to cross to Europe in rubber dinghies or small boats. Despite reports of capsized vessels and drownings, they do not give up hope of reaching Europe. # 
In northwestern Morocco, in the forests of Gourougou Mountain, several hundred African migrants are living covertly in remote makeshift camps, struggling to survive, and waiting for an opportunity to enter Europe.
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