A Moroccan soccer player dreamed of Europe — but died on her way to Ceuta
Fatin Ben Homar Azizi, 26, died while swimming to the Spanish enclave in late July
"The only thing by which I was able to identify her body was a necklace," said Jamila Afelom about her daughter, Fatin Ben Homar Azizi.
asserted
Afelom → dream → daughter
"I had given [it to] her before she left."
asserted
she → give → her
Afelom found her daughter's body in a hospital a day and a half after Fatin had tried to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta by swimming from Morocco.
asserted
Fatin → find → Morocco
Speaking to CBC News earlier this month via video call from the northern Moroccan city of Tétouan, about 40 kilometres from Ceuta, Afelom often looked away from the screen.
asserted
Afelom → speak → screen
At times her voice broke and she covered her face with her hands as she recalled that day in late July.
asserted
she → break → July
"People I knew had seen Fatin's body being taken out of the sea," she said.
asserted
she → know → sea
"I will never forget the shock.
asserted
I → forget → shock
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Bold, determined and a little boyish is how Afelom described her 26-year-old daughter.
asserted
Afelom → breach → daughter
"She often skipped school.
asserted
She → skip → school
She would leave her schoolbag at school and run away to play football," she said.
asserted
she → leave → football
Coach Adel El Kaab of Moghreb Athletic Tétouan, a club that competes in Morocco's top tier, had known Fatin since she was a little girl.
asserted
she → compete → Fatin
She trained with him for several years before joining another Tétouan-based club, Moghreb Atletico Tanger, this winter.
asserted
She → train → club
I miss her," said El Kaab, who is paid to coach male teams but volunteers his time training women's teams.
asserted
who → miss → teams
El Kaab told CBC News "football is a refuge for these girls," as many of them live in difficult economic conditions.
asserted
many → tell → conditions
Even though he tries to warn his players of the dangers of irregular migration routes, many of the players he coached left during the last major departure, hoping to find a brighter future in Europe.
asserted
he → try → Europe
"Two have returned, but around eight girls are still in Ceuta," he said.
"
asserted
he → return → Ceuta
I tell the girls: 'Don't rush into anything.
asserted
I → tell → anything
Trying to stop her daughter
A single mother, Afelom works at a cemetery in Tétouan, where she maintains graves and sells small items such as bottles of water, basil and other herbs.
asserted
she → try → water
According to Islam, basil symbolizes the fragrances that await believers in paradise.
uncertain
that → accord → paradise
Fatin worked there with her mother.
asserted
Fatin → work → mother
"We earned about 500 dirhams [around $75 Cdn] a week," Afelom said.
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Afelom → earn → dirhams
Together, she emphasized.
asserted
she → emphasize → ?
Fatin's father, a pastry chef, died from lung disease when she was 10, leaving Afelom to raise four children.
asserted
she → die → children
She remarried and had another daughter, but the father left the family.
asserted
father → remarry → family
"Our state does not look after us.
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state → look → us
There is absolutely nothing," Afelom said.
asserted
Afelom → be → ?
She said Fatin once told her: "I want to do everything I can to go to Europe and get you out of this misery.
asserted
I → say → misery
I would rather throw myself into the sea than remain this poor and have nothing."
asserted
I → throw → nothing
Fatin had already tried to reach Ceuta once before.
asserted
Fatin → try → Ceuta
At the end of July, an estimated 80,000 Moroccans and migrants from countries further south travelled to the northern border city of Fnideq, hoping to cross the border into Ceuta.
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Moroccans → estimate → Ceuta
Many migrants see it as a pathway to residency in Europe.
asserted
migrants → see → Europe
When Afelom heard what was happening at the border, she said she "went home as quickly as I could to see how my children were doing."
uncertain
children → hear → border
Afelom had tried to persuade Fatin to stay home.
asserted
Afelom → try → Fatin
But her eldest daughter had made up her mind.
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daughter → make → mind
"She told me, 'You already stopped me once.
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You → tell → me
So don't tell me I have to stay.
asserted
I → tell → me
My friends went last time and now they have papers and a good future.'
asserted
they → go → papers
Fatin's 32-year-old brother Montasir and 14-year-old sister Amira also went to the border.
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brother → go → border
When Fatin arrived, she called her mother.
asserted
she → arrive → mother
"Mom, it is so crowded.
asserted
it → crowd → ?
…and 37 more, not listed.
The Aporia
