Border Congestion Sparks Debate in Melilla as Travelers Face Long Waits to Enter Morocco

"Today, it seems to me that with about an hour and a half of waiting, I can cross the border," said Youssef to El Faro de Melilla. For this resident of Melilla, there are fewer queues this weekend than last week when it took him 8 hours to enter Morocco. The influx varies depending on the time you arrive at the border. According to another citizen of the city, traffic jams at the border are generally noted early in the morning and in the middle of the afternoon.

For others, however, the waiting time is very long. "I’ve been here for an hour," explained Founti, a native of Melilla, who regularly crosses the border to go to Morocco where he has a farm. "There are a lot of queues," also estimates Hayat, a Moroccan woman who is waiting to cross the border after spending a few days in Melilla with her husband and children. According to her, the traffic jam at the border is permanent. "Before entering Melilla, we also spent hours in a long queue," she lamented.

Another family from Melilla, on their way to Morocco to visit their relatives and buy certain products for their own use, said they had spent nearly four hours at the border. The children were bored and very hot and thirsty. They had to get out of the car to get some air, their mother, Soraya, confided. "The problem is not the queue, it’s the sun," deplored another traveler who complains about the lack of water and infrastructure to pass the waiting time.

"My children don’t even want to enter Morocco because of the queue," said a man from Melilla living in France. "There are people who no longer go through Melilla to enter Morocco during the Marhaba Operation to avoid all these inconveniences," assures his wife, Mariem.