Here at the CETI, the day's work consists mainly of waiting. Waiting to finally get the longed-for "Salida", i.e. to be transferred to the mainland. Someone once said that Melilla is a large open-air prison - and this is true.
Although the migrants are allowed to move freely in the city, they have no money at their disposal, nor are they allowed to leave Melilla. They are only taken to the mainland by boat with the "Entrada" stamp, which takes between 3 months and 5 years, although the camp is designed as an initial reception centre, everyone has to wait here for no reason. The camp is hopelessly overcrowded, with one hour of Spanish lessons three times a week and constant questioning by the police. Nobody is interested in the history of the people, nobody in their hopes and dreams.
Together with an artist from Melilla and all the people from Ceti who are taking part, we are doing an art project. We are building a boat to symbolise their journey, their experiences and their dreams.
Tomorrow we will cover the boat with the drawings and T-shirts we have made. It was an exhausting but really fulfilling day.
The Melilla Project
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- 2014 - 2015
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