Moroccan Footballer Faten El Azizi Dies in Ceuta Crossing as 141 Migrants Perish
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 12
Moroccan Footballer Faten El Azizi Dies in Ceuta Crossing as 141 Migrants Perish
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 12
Summary
26-year-old Faten Ben Omar El Azizi drowned on 30 July trying to swim from Morocco to Spain’s Ceuta enclave, one of at least 141 people killed in last month’s mass crossing.
The regional footballer from Tétouan could not live on match payments of about 260 dirham when her team won and also worked in a cemetery, reflecting the economic pressure behind her attempt to reach Europe.
Her mother said Spanish officials called the same day to say El Azizi’s visa had been approved, a decision the family did not know she was pursuing and that arrived after she had already died.
The deaths have intensified scrutiny of Morocco’s youth crisis: nearly 40% of people aged 15 to 24 were unemployed last year, while anger has grown over World Cup stadium spending amid weak public services.
The family’s loss widened after the crossing — El Azizi’s son reached Ceuta, and her 14-year-old daughter is also believed to have made it, leaving their mother alone in Morocco.