Europe’s Wall of Shame

To many Sub-Saharan Africans, migration is as much a rite of passage as it is an opportunity to escape famine, war, and poverty in their home countries. Every year, tens of thousands of migrants make their way across Africa in search of a better life in Europe, risking their lives in the journey. The trip can take years and many migrants die along the way – whether it is from the various dangers they encounter on the journey or at the hands of heavy handed border police on the Spain-Morocco border. “Europe’s wall of shame” offers an intimate insight into the hidden lives of Sub-Saharan African migrants living in Northern Morocco – and the heavy-handed efforts of the European Union to keep them from illegally entering Spain. For Bruno, a 23 year old migrant who fled poverty in Cameroon, his dream is to enter Europe by jumping a highly-militarized barrier into Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the African continent. With unique access, this film documents the reality of these migrants trapped in limbo, as well as the mistreatment they face from both the Moroccan and Spanish authorities. Although the majority of these migrants are from Sub-Saharan Africa, in recent years the borders have been also attracting people from furtherer field with some coming from as far as some war-torn countries in the Middle East. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq have driven hundreds of families to brave long and dangerous journeys in order to reach relative safety in Europe. The documentary also depicts the reality of the lives of these refugees across the borders.