Stranded Spanish Brothers Face Homelessness in Morocco Amid COVID-19 Border Closure

Arrived in Morocco in January to work for a telephone company, Víctor and José Boquer Aranda, two Valencian brothers aged 22 and 20, are stranded there. Without a passport, without money or a mobile phone, they beg for alms to survive and live near Fnideq, in a makeshift hut built with their own hands.

In three and a half months, the two Valencians have lived through hell. "We were fired from work without taking any salaries; and to top it off, we were thrown out on the street... We are waiting for the consulate to help us find a solution, but nothing so far... We were told to go to Ceuta or Melilla, but the border is closed," says a dejected Víctor in a video that has gone viral on Facebook.

Since last Monday, the two Valencians have been living in Fnideq, at the home of Randa, a 26-year-old girl from Ceuta, whose father, Mustafa Boughaba, caught them begging on the street.

Thanks to this cry for help, Victor and José have received donations in kind and in cash: 150 euros to rent a house, clothes and food. With Randa’s help, they were able to find accommodation where they spend the night, awaiting their repatriation to Spain.

In total, more than 1,200 Spaniards and Moroccans residing in Spain will be repatriated on Friday and Saturday on two ferries of the Trasmediterránea company leaving the Moroccan port of Tanger Med for the Spanish port of Algeciras.