Spanish enclaves offer lifeline for poor Moroccans

By Zakia Abdennebi

CEUTA, Spain (Reuters) - Illegal migrants see Spain's enclaves in Morocco as gateways to a better life in Europe, but many Moroccans suffer beatings and pay bribes to go in past razor-wire fences just to be able to return home.

Waves of African migrants stormed the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in 2005, when 11 were killed, but thousands of poor Moroccans queue to enter the Spanish territories in order to make a meager living when they trek back into Morocco.

They go in and return laden with food, perfume, shampoo, household wares and electric appliances. Moroccan border police let them back without paying import duties to undercut legal importers and turn a small profit.

In the harsh sun outside Ceuta, patience wears thin.

"Get back! One at a time!" cries a uniformed Spanish border guard as his colleagues struggle to fend off the crowd, dealing occasional truncheon blows to the goods piled on their backs.

A woman drops to the ground in a fit of hysteria and her companions pour water on her face.

"Sometimes they take my goods, sometimes they beat me and even when I give them a bribe they insult me," said 70-year-old Fatima Zgharia, carrying a heavy load of beans, crisps and rice held tight to her back under a cotton sheet.

Bent double and pale, Fatima weeps as she tells of the 40 years she has spent trudging back and forth for a pitifully small return.