In Pictures

The forest sheltering African migrants in Morocco

Just over 20km from Spain’s southern tip, the forest in Tangier acts as a last stop for those aiming to reach Europe.

Migrants are routinely evicted from this forest by the police, forcing them to move to the south of the country. They are not allowed to take their possessions which are either burned or left for the next occupants of the forest to use. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

19 Nov 2018

Tangier, Morocco – A forest in a poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of Tangier, a tourist town in Morocco‘s northeast, acts as a last stop for African migrants before they attempt the perilous journey into Europe.

Here, they sleep on discarded, stained mattresses, cook a meal a day using firewood and wash their clothes from rainwater collected in metal cans.

However, with no roof over their heads, there is no place to hide from the rain.

In the middle of all this, Amale ponders his next move, sitting on a log. He is almost 4,500km from home, but fewer than 25km from Spain, which was his dream destination when he left Sierra Leone a year ago.

There are more than 20 other African migrants taking shelter in the forest with him. Some of them are excited to be so close to Europe. Others, after hearing about the risks associated with crossing the Mediterranean, are re-evaluating their options.

More than 2,000 migrants have died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean this year. The risk, along with the lack of money and fear of the authorities, forced Amale to change his mind.

“It’s too dangerous. I’ve already spent more than eight million leones ($930) and more than 12 months on this trip. I want to go home,” Amale told Al Jazeera.

Nature is not the migrants’ only nemesis. The police routinely raid the forest and take them to the south of the country, where they beg on the streets to save up just about enough to return to this forest.

Once they are back under the trees, the migrants start saving again. This time for a spot on the boat that will take them to Spain.

Sleeping on discarded mattresses, migrants often only possess only mobile phones and the clothes they are wearing. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

David is 19. He came to Morocco from the Ivory Coast three months ago after crossing into Mali and Algeria. It took him three months to reach Morocco on land, making stops when he ran out of cash. 'I want to go to Spain. But I need to wait until I have enough money to make it there. The cheapest option is the riskiest but I have no other choice,' he said. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

According to authorities, police raid the forest to prevent human trafficking into Spain. 'We are tough on networks and on those who try and use Morocco as a platform for migrant smuggling,' Morocco's border control chief Khalid Zerouali told Al Jazeera. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

Osman (not his real name) has different plans. He has been in Tangier for two weeks and has made contacts with a trafficker, who offered him a spot on a boat for $230. Osman, with other migrants, would need to paddle the boat for five hours to reach Spain. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

None of the migrants wanted to have their faces shown in the photographs. They did not want their friends and families to see the conditions in which they lived and the hardships they faced in their bid to reach Spain. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

In addition to the police, migrants are also wary of local Moroccans, some of whom threaten them whenever they leave the forest to buy supplies or beg for money. 'For our safety, we usually travel in groups and in daytime,' said one of the migrants. 'Last night, I was on my way to the forest when a group spotted me. They were carrying knives. Thank God, I ran away and reached the forest unharmed.' [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

Wood collected from the forest is used for fuel to cook the lunch that is often these migrants’ only meal of the day. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

Their lunch often consists of a vegetable broth with some boiled eggs added, if the migrants have saved up enough money to afford them. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

A freshwater source nearby offers some respite from the hardships these migrants face in the forest. The water is used for drinking, as well as cooking food. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

Amale washes his clothes, hoping the rain will hold off long enough for his clothes to dry. He used to work at a restaurant in Sierra Leone, but left for Morocco after his friend told him that going to Spain will change his life. Now, he's having second thoughts. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]

A new group of migrants often uses what is left behind by previous migrants who either made it to Spain or were evicted. 'I want to tell the authorities: We can't find jobs; we can't find shelter. Stop hunting us like animals. If you can't help us, let us live in peace,' a migrant from Ghana said. [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]