The atrocities that were seen at the Spanish-Moroccan border are further proof of the permanent divorce between social democracy and humanitarianism

Following the death of an estimated 23 migrants in their attempt to enter Spain‘s North African enclave of Melilla, we strongly condemn the Spanish government’s actions which led to this atrocity.

The deaths and countless injuries recently witnessed on the Spanish-Moroccan border towards the Melilla enclave, one of the two Spanish enclaves on the Moroccan coast, are further proof of the permanent divorce of social democracy and humanitarianism.

The allegedly progressive Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez not only congratulated the combined effort of his own forces and those of Morocco, but also referred to an “attack on the territorial integrity of the country” in regards to the migrants’ attempt to enter into Spanish territory.

As we have grown accustomed to, what the European Union preaches on openness towards migration and refugees is very different in practice.

While on one hand they espouse a humanitarian façade when it comes to refugees from Ukraine, and rightly so, others are not held in the same regard. This selectiveness ultimately demonstrates that the welcoming of refugees is not purely a matter of principle but also subject to political interests and ideologies.

At the same time, it would be an appropriate moment to question exactly what right Spain has to occupy African territory and to build walls of inhumanity there, which lead to so many deaths and injuries on a frequent basis.

Read a statement by MeRA25 in Greece on this same incident here.

Do you want to be informed of DiEM25's actions? Sign up here