Moroccan Brothers Reunite After 15 Years Following Migrant Boat Journey

Mohamed Ihmoudni works as a cook at the Arrecife Nautical Club. At the end of the day, he becomes a volunteer for the Red Cross and helps new migrants upon their arrival in Lanzarote. A few days before October 15, his father in Morocco had informed him of his younger brother’s disappearance, suspecting that he had embarked for Lanzarote. Mohamed was therefore waiting for this brother whom he finally spotted among the migrants who arrived on October 15 at Puerto Naos. "It was like a dream come true," he tells La Voz de Lanzarote.

15 years ago, Mohamed had left Agadir on board a makeshift boat. "It was in 2008, I was eight years old and it was the first time I saw the ocean. My family had paid 3,500 euros for this trip," he recalls. His brother, for his part, paid 4,000 euros for this sea crossing. "When I imagined that he might have taken a boat, I was very afraid that he would die at sea," he emphasizes, recalling his painful experience. "Traveling by boat is horrible, you vomit all day... I don’t recommend it to anyone."

His parents jumped for joy after learning that his younger brother had joined him, safe and sound. "It was as if they had won the lottery." Mohamed does not see himself living anywhere other than Lanzarote, even if he would like to return one day to his hometown. Arrived in the city at the age of 8, he continued his studies until the final year, before starting to work and earn money. "I had to leave the minor center, I had no option to continue my studies. I had to take cooking classes," he explains.

During his studies, Mohamed was constantly a victim of racism. "At school, I suffered a lot of racism because I was, as they say, a Moor... For two years, I woke up crying and went to bed crying because I wanted to see my family," he confesses. The only time he was able to play football on a field, the spectators called him a "fucking Moor". Today, Mohamed Ihmoudni earns a salary that allows him to pay his rent and send a little money to his family in Morocco. He has already started the procedures to obtain Spanish nationality.