Mason Jones (Reporter)
A GROUP of sixteen Moroccan immigrants have taken refuge on a Spanish islet after arriving by patera boat yesterday.
The group, which includes three pregnant women and three children, is thought to be the first to use the uninhibited Islet de Tierra to gain asylum.
There is currently speculation as to whether they could be part of a human trafficking operation run by organised crime groups using the Spanish islets in North Africa as new migration routes.
Although the islet is so close to the Moroccan coast – just 10 metres when the tide is out – its Spanish sovereignty means the group is now under the responsibility of Spain’s government.
The government has guaranteed humanitarian assistance to the group but admitted it is unsure of the next steps to take.
The next steps are obvious. Shelter, food, water, medical aid. Give temporary asylum, then guard the access so it can’t be abused again by traffickers. Or, dare one say it, give up sovereignty of that lump of Africa.
or how about doing nothing. that works just as well. Let the spanish do things in spanish-time…
yeah we’ll go and save them, but first i have to see a man about a chorezo, get the boat fixed, order a new lifebelt, so it may be months before we get there.
Oh and of course, dont forget to ask for more eu grants.