Reuters destaca la fotografía de Ashraf, una historia que evidencia la crisis migratoria

The Reuters news agency has selected the best images published in its media during the year 2021. Among the 97 outstanding images from different countries around the world, it has highlighted the image of the Moroccan boy Ashraf.

The photograph captures the moment in which the young Moroccan boy tries to swim in the waters of the Mediterranean in his attempt to reach the city of Ceuta, while tears stream down his face.

Photographer Jon Nazca, who took the image of the young Ashraf, was shocked on his arrival in Ceuta, the border between Spain and Morocco, "I felt as if I had found myself on the set of a war movie. Hundreds of migrants were swimming desperately at full speed to reach Spanish territory, while thousands more were resting on the beach exhausted after arriving in Spain", he said after posting the image.

The massive immigration situation at the border between Morocco and Spain generated shocking images. "Spanish soldiers met them with tanks and rescue boats on the shore and helped them on the shore while the Moroccan authorities looked on calmly," Nazca said.

In the midst of despair, the author selected the young Moroccan who swam against the currents of the Mediterranean in his struggle to reach Europe. "Of all the swimmers, one particularly caught my attention. Ashraf was the only one who made a float with nine plastic bottles tied around his body to save himself in case he ran out of energy," said the photographer.

Young Ashraf's journey took more than an hour in the water. "The heat was intense but the sea was cold. I followed him along the shore for more than 500 metres as he tried to dodge the soldiers stationed on the beach and escape inland". As he swam, Ashraf pleaded with the soldiers, saying: "They will beat me, please. I don't want to go back. Eventually, the 16-year-old emerged from the water, tried to escape by climbing over a wall, but was caught. And, after being consoled by the soldiers themselves, he was returned to Morocco the same day, according to El País. 

The beaches of Ceuta in Spain were the scene of a new migration tragedy. Among the hundreds of people crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Morocco to Spain in search of asylum is Ashraf, a 16-year-old boy who was abandoned at birth, the woman who adopted him died five years ago and he was taken in by a widow in a Casablanca neighbourhood.

The conditions in which they cross the turbulent waters do not guarantee that they will reach the shore alive, and this young boy did his best to invent a system to prevent drowning, using plastic bottles as floats. In the pictures, Ashraf can be seen exhausted and overwhelmed by the harrowing experience.

The photograph highlighted by Reuters reflects the search for better living conditions, the economic and social inequality between countries, and how growing conflict and violence force young people to risk their lives out of necessity.

"I knew nothing about Ashraf's life in Morocco at the time, and why he chose to risk everything at such a young age. But I was impressed by his intelligence in designing that float. Ashraf never had anyone in Morocco and was just trying to escape to find a better life in Europe," the photographer concluded.