Former Child Migrant Overcomes Odds to Join Spanish Civil Guard

Musta arrived in Algeciras from Tangier under a truck. "I have friends who died trying to immigrate... I left Morocco to try to help my family. A 9-year-old child in Morocco is different from a 9-year-old child in Spain," explains Musta to Andalucía Directo. The young man has passed through various reception centers before meeting Sandra, the head of the "Host Families" program, whom he considers his older sister.

Initiated by the Andalusian Association of Catholic Centers for Minors, the program organizes outings on weekends and also during vacations for these minors who live away from their biological families. Now an adult, Musta currently lives with a host family thanks to this program. He has decided to continue his studies to become a Civil Guard. "I am surrounded by good people whom I thank and I will always be grateful," he affirms.

The young man wants to help other boys who, like him, had to leave Morocco to try to illegally immigrate to Spain. "It’s to enforce the law... A Civil Guard has to comply with certain rules, they are workers," Musta believes. "In Morocco, I wouldn’t have had all these opportunities," concludes Musta, happy to be able to help his parents in Tangier who are "extremely proud" of him.