The bodies of two young Moroccans who arrived in Ceuta last week were buried anonymously this weekend in the Sidi Embarek Muslim cemetery in the Spanish enclave. The first deceased was recognized by his relatives through photos as Saber Azzouz, a 19 years old from Fnideq.
Without being able to formally identify him, with the closure of the borders, the family could neither repatriate the body, nor formalize the identification and attend the funeral. A simple number has been assigned to the tomb.
The second body is believed to be that of a 17-year-old teenager. At the end of the week, he would have fallen in the port on the ground, from a height of ten meters, succumbing to his injuries during his hospitalization. Buried near Saber Azzouz, his unnamed grave also bears a number. El Faro de Ceuta recalls that this is the third tragic death among the young people who have arrived in the enclave, since May 17. Last Thursday, the body of a teenager was found on the coast of the enclave.
Friends of Saber Azzouz who also made the crossing wanted to take part in the funeral to bid him a final farewell, despite the risk that they would be spotted by the Spanish police. «When we reached the shore, we saw that he was drowning (…) people helped him to enter Ceuta although he could not swim, but he was isolated by the waves that had him carried away», one of the Moroccan teenagers told Ceuta TV during the funeral.
Although traumatized to have seen his friend die in front of his eyes, he said that he refuses any possibility of returning to Morocco. «I came here to find a better future and to benefit from my rights», he explained.