Jamila Afelom shared that the sole identifying mark on her daughter, Fatin Ben Homar Azizi’s body, was a necklace she had gifted her before her departure. It took Afelom a day and a half to locate Fatin’s body after her failed attempt to swim from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Afelom, speaking via video call from Tétouan, Morocco, where she resides, vividly recalled the distressing events of late July.
Describing her daughter as bold, determined, and slightly tomboyish, Afelom reminisced about Fatin’s love for soccer, a sport she was deeply passionate about. Fatin, a 26-year-old, frequently skipped school to play football, leaving her schoolbag behind. Adel El Kaab, Fatin’s coach at Moghreb Athletic Tétouan, praised her dedication, referring to her as a younger sister and expressing his deep sense of loss.
Despite El Kaab’s warnings about the dangers of irregular migration, several players, including Fatin, sought a brighter future in Europe. Fatin’s decision to pursue this path stemmed from a desire to uplift her family from poverty, as she expressed to her mother, Afelom, before her tragic demise.
The tragic episode unfolded amidst a surge of migrants attempting to enter Ceuta, leading to numerous deaths and a humanitarian crisis. Fatin’s family, devastated by her loss, eventually located her body in a hospital in Fnideq after an exhaustive search. The Moroccan human rights organization AMDH reported a significant number of deaths during this period, with many bodies remaining unidentified.
Fatin’s burial at the same cemetery where she and her mother worked symbolized the abrupt end to her dreams of a better life. El Kaab highlighted the challenges faced by young Moroccans, including high unemployment rates and exploitation, pushing them towards migration as a means of escape. Afelom’s anguish is compounded by the plight of her surviving children in Ceuta, with her daughter expressing despair over her situation.
As the family grapples with the aftermath of Fatin’s untimely death, they mourn her unfulfilled aspirations and the harsh realities that drove her to seek a different life.
