A survivor of the Melilla massacre expelled by Spain fights for his life in Algeria

Ishak Omar tells his story from a temporary shelter of the Red Crescent in Algeriawhere he found shelter just a few days ago, after months sleeping on the street. Now, finally alone, he can talk without interruptions. From the other end of the phone line, his voice sounds tired. Sometimes he interrupts his story: an intense headache caused by his illness prevents him from continuing. Still, Ishak presses on. He preserves the vivid memory of that June 24, 2022, when he tried to cross into Spanish territory from Melilla. “We went to Melilla and they killed usI still have a hard time believing that I came out alive,” confesses this Sudanese asylum seeker.

On that date a massacre occurred in the border between Spain and Morocco: at least 37 people diedhundreds were injured and, to this day, at least 70 people are still missing. Exhausted and injured people accumulated on the border line while the Spanish authorities summarily returned, without guarantees, at least 470 migrants, as documented by the Ombudsman. Among them was Ishakwho, after crossing into Spanish territory, suffered an injury to his left eye. The Civil Guard returned it immediately without receiving attention for his injuries and the Moroccan authorities deported him to a small city in the center of the country, where he was able to go to the hospital thanks to the help of a friend.

Almost two years after the Melilla massacreIshak continues fighting. Now it is found in Algeria, waiting for medical attention. They suspect that he has a liver tumorbut the lack of access to health services prevents confirmation of the diagnosis and requires urgent intervention.

Ishak left Sudan in 2021, escaping the repression that followed the military coup after the December Revolution, in which he actively participated alongside the resistance committees and the Sudanese Communist Party. “Our revolution triumphed, but the military carried out a coup d’état. The security services they started chasing me“says Ishak.

After passing through Chad, Libya and Algeria, Ishak arrived in Moroccowhere he stayed until he was able to jump the fence on June 24. After the immediate return of the Civil Guard, he decided to settle in Morocco, but his health quickly worsened: his skin and eyes began to turn yellow. At the beginning of 2023, he suffered episodes of high fever and severe abdominal painbut at the hospital they told him that he did not have any illness.

Two months later, just ten days after the start of Ramadan, the Moroccan authorities They arrested him and deported him to Algeriawhere he was admitted to a detention center in the city of Tiemcen, in the northwest of the country. After four days of forced laborhis health worsened and he was taken to the hospital to receive injections for pain. As soon as he left the hospital, he was deported along with other asylum seekers, to abandon him in the desert, south of Algerianear the border with Niger.

The condemnation of migrating through North Africa

“After I was expelled from Morocco to Algeria, I was deported again to Niger, but I returned,” says Ishak. However, the journey devastated his health: he could not walk or go to the bathroom without help, his skin and eyes became even more yellowish, and he lost weight drastically. His traveling companions took him to Ouargla, Algeria, where he was finally left alone.

Ishak’s experience is common among the thousands of migrants who cross North Africa on their route. Organizations like Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders They denounce practices such as arbitrary detention and the expulsion of migrants to desert areas. In Algeria, for example, the authorities carry out mass deportations of sub-Saharan migrantsabandoning them in the desert without basic resources and exposing them to extreme conditions. In Tunisia, the panorama is similar: Migrants denounce violent attacks and deportations to the desert. A recent research coordinated by Lighthouse Reports revealed that in Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, authorities detain migrants based on the color of their skin and then abandon them in remote areas. These practices are even financed with European funds, intended to support border control in these countries.

After 32 days walkingIshak reached Tunisia, where he requested asylum and received medical attention due to the serious deterioration of his health: he was coughing up blood and was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He requested help from the Tunisian Council to continue with his treatment but was informed that they could not help him as he did not have refugee status. “I tried return to Morocco, where UNHCR recognizes me as a refugeebut I couldn’t because of my illness. Therefore, I decided to go to Algeria, where my suffering began again.”

In August 2024, weakened, he arrived in Algiers and went to the Mustafa Pasha Hospital, where his tuberculosis treatment was suspended without explanation. No home, no healthcareslept in a park while his health worsened. Ishak asked UNHCR for financial help to receive private treatment, but was again told that they can only give money to refugees. “I told them that I am a recognized refugee in Morocco and they have my file. Why don’t they interview me to confirm it and receive help? They rejected my request.” Finally, he went to the UNHCR office, where they arranged for his transfer to a hospital, and then returned him to his improvised shelter where he had to live for almost two more months.

On October 31, 2024, UNHCR referred him to a doctor and transferred him to a Red Crescent shelter.following the publication of a report on his health by journalist Chadi Boukhari and human rights defender Ishan Elgalta. “I have more than 20 types of medications and they are of no use to me,” laments this young man, who is still waiting for the necessary tests to confirm his diagnosis and receive adequate treatment. At the shelter he tries to rest, but conditions are precarious: When he arrived, the mattresses and blankets were infested with insects, until four days later, UNHCR and Red Crescent workers came to replace them. Now, he is still waiting to receive the treatment he needs and fears returning to the forest.

Without refugee recognition, people like Ishak find themselves trapped in limbo, without rights and with little access to healthcare. Since fleeing Sudan three years ago, Ishak has traveled a long road, filled with violence and discrimination, with little help from the institutions that were supposed to protect his basic rights. Despite this, Ishak has a support network that has accompanied him from the beginning. “I always find my friends who came to Europe sending me money and boosting my morale.” Their struggle for a dignified life is a reminder of the violence of European borders and the barriers faced by those seeking refuge in a system that closes its doors to them.