Spanish enclaves’ towering fences offer glimpse of fortress Europe

MELILLA (SPAIN) (TIP): In September 2005, hundreds of African migrants stormed the barbed wire fences in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco, seeking to make their way into Europe. Five died and many were severely injured.Today , the flow of migrants trying to climb over what has become a towering fence in Melilla has slowed to a trickle. The fence in Melilla offers a glimpse of what other European frontiers could look like in the future. In recent weeks several European countries have reinstated border checks to control migrants. Hungary has gone much further, barricading its border with Serbia.

“The process that started in Ceuta and Melilla a decade ago is the blue print for the militarization of borders across Euro pe especially at choke points where you have the main migrant routes,” says Jan Semmelroggen, expert on migration policy at Nottingham Trent University .
“Spain’s two North African enclaves are a sign of things to come.”

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