Hundreds of migrant children are stranded in Spain's Ceuta after border crossing
One teen made it through after her 8-year-old brother drowned amid surge from Morocco
The teenage girl made it through the waves to Spanish territory.
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girl → strand → territory
Her little brother did not, drowning in the Mediterranean, while their mother disappeared in the chaos when tens of thousands of people surged through the breakwater, trying to leave Morocco behind.
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thousands → do → Morocco
The tragic story of a 17-year-old from Tangier is representative of the plight of many of the more than 800 minors who four days after the collective push by migrants into Ceuta face a scary present and an uncertain future.
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who → face → present
She told an Associated Press photojournalist how she and her family joined the massive crowd that tried to swim around a border fence to reach the Spanish territory on Thursday.
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that → tell → Thursday
Like many, she said they did so seeking better opportunities.
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they → say → opportunities
The AP is withholding her identity because she is a minor in a vulnerable situation.
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she → withhold → situation
She described how she saw Spanish police pull the body of her 8-year-old brother from the water.
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police → describe → water
She made it to the shore but became separated from her mother, and has spent the last four days on her own.
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She → make → own
She said some locals gave her food and some clothing, with one woman taking her into her home so she could bathe.
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she → say → home
She then went to a centre for youths run by the government for some help, but found it was full.
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it → go → help
"I saw people stepping on the dead," she said through a translator since she doesn't speak Spanish.
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she → see → Spanish
"Now we are children begging on the street."
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we → beg → street
She is one of some 860 minors who remained in Ceuta on Monday after crossing over, according to local officials.
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who → remain → officials
AP journalists saw other minors asking for food.
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minors → see → food
Those minors now make up a large part of the 3,000-5,000 migrants who have avoided expulsion from Ceuta of the original 60,000 who came across.
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who → make → 60,000
Spanish authorities confirmed 72 people died, mostly in the water, during the crossing.
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people → confirm → crossing
Morocco reported 11 deaths which are not included in the Spanish total, the Spanish interior ministry said.
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ministry → report → total
Minors must be cared for under Spanish law
Spanish law says that adult migrants can apply for asylum.
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migrants → care → asylum
If rejected, they will face expulsion procedures.
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they → reject → procedures
The bar is normally very high for Moroccans to be granted humanitarian protection.
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Moroccans → grant → protection
Migrant minors who are unaccompanied by adults, however, are supposed to be granted protection and taken care of by Spanish authorities.
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who → suppose → authorities
An AP journalist witnessed Spanish soldiers escorting an unaccompanied Moroccan boy who was crying and begging not to be sent back to Morocco.
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who → witness → Morocco
A few metres before reaching the border, and due to pressure from local residents who insisted he was a minor, as well as the presence of the media, a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish Army stopped the repatriation and transferred the boy to the Spanish Civil Guard.
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colonel → reach → Guard
Most of the Moroccan adults have either voluntarily gone home or were pushed back by Spanish police.
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Most → go → police
Among those who remain in Ceuta are significant numbers of people from other countries, including Sudanese fleeing their war-torn country, Palestinians from Gaza and Afghans, as well as people from several African nations.
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numbers → remain → nations
Food is scarce among the migrants, according to reporting by AP journalists.
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Food → accord → journalists
"The strategy is that hunger, thirst and exhaustion forces these people to finally decide to voluntarily return to Morocco," said local migration activist Ramsés Mohamed Azumik of Asociación Elín.
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activist → force → Elín
Many migrants sleep or rest on the beach or hills surrounding the speck of Spain.
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migrants → sleep → Spain
In the hazy distance, mainland Europe, their ultimate goal, lies across the sea.
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Europe → lie → sea
The Aporia
