Moroccan Mother Stranded in Ceuta Awaits Border Reopening to Reunite with Children

"I came to Ceuta a little before the border closed, escaping from my husband because of the mistreatment he was inflicting on me. I left my six children there. Since then, I have been living with Sabah," Malika explains to El faro de Ceuta, expressing her gratitude to all the people who have come to her aid since her arrival in Ceuta.

Malika suffers from the absence of her six children, whom she had to abandon in Fnideq. "We were living in Tangier and I fled with my children. We came to live in Fnideq. And I came to Ceuta every day to work and earn a living as best I could, until the border was closed and I couldn’t go back home. I thought it would only be for two weeks at most..." she recounts.

But she does not want to return to Morocco because she is still very afraid of her husband, her tormentor, even though she has been separated from him for eight years. "I don’t want to leave Ceuta, because I am threatened by my husband. What I can do is send them money every month," she said. Despite all the difficulties, Malika remains a mother to her children and wants to prove her love to them and receive theirs in return. "If the border opens one day, I will go see my children," she promises.

At the age of 50, Malika still has hope, despite her health beginning to deteriorate. "What I want is to start a new life and for my children to join me in Ceuta, because the situation in Morocco is not good. Here at least there is work and the eldest could help me by working because he is 29 years old," she affirms.