--- description: Melilla is a modern-day fortress that holds the promise of better lives for migrants title: Melilla, the Southern Frontier in Europe's Migrant Crisis image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf034d853285d32f/698854cce53abaa58b4de33f/melilla-migrants-51.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Discover Melilla, the Southern Frontier in Europe's Migrant Crisis by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/), [Francesca Trianni](/author/francesca-trianni/) and [Mikko Takkunen](/author/mikko-takkunen/) Aug 11, 2015 8:00 AM CUT  A group of Sub-Saharan migrants try to escape from the police in the fields next to the border in Melilla in 2014. A group of Sub-Saharan migrants try to escape from the police in the fields next to the border in Melilla in 2014.Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/), [Francesca Trianni](/author/francesca-trianni/) and [Mikko Takkunen](/author/mikko-takkunen/) Aug 11, 2015 8:00 AM CUT Melilla, a small Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, may seem like an idyllic destination for summer holidays, with sandy beaches, turquoise waters and historic Roman ruins. The town, which Spain conquered in 1497, is an architectural treasure where influences from different cultures can be observed side-by-side. Anchoring it all is the Ciudadela citadel, an imposing Spanish military fortress with insurmountable walls built to repel Moroccan forces in the 16th and 17th centuries. But today, for many migrants, Melilla has a very different meaning. It’s the culmination of a weeks-long journey, often commenced in [West Africa](http://time.com/3835789/africa-migrants-niger-pictures/ "undefined"). It holds the promise of a better life in Europe — but only if they can evade border patrols and overcome the 10- to 20-ft.-high fences that have transformed Melilla into a modern-day fortress, too. “It’s the border of the border,” says Gianfranco Tripodo. The Italian photographer has spent the last three years documenting migrants’ attempts to climb Melilla’s fence. “When I started to work in Melilla, there was so little coverage of the migrants’ situation,” he explains. “And I wanted to see with my own eyes the tangible and real consequences of the European Union’s migration policies on thousands of people.” Tripodo followed migrants on both sides of the fence — in the many unofficial refugee camps set up around Melilla in Morocco, as well as at the Centros de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes (CETI) where migrants are processed once in the Spanish enclave. “Not far from the center, some migrants have built a sort of meeting place with chairs and stuff they’ve collected around the city,” he says. “People cook, drink or just hang out,” as they wait for authorities to settle their fate. _See the story of Fez, 27, a deaf migrant in Melilla as he tried to reach the rest of his family in Europe – a video directed by_ _Guillem Valle, co-founder of_ [_Me-mo magazine._](http://memo-mag.com/ "undefined") On April 24, 2014, as Tripodo was working in the compound, word arrived that a “jump of the fence” was underway. “I immediately rushed there and some 40 migrants were standing on top of a building on the side of the border,” he says. “After a couple of hours, the Spanish Guardia Civil started to push back the migrants into Morocco.” Some of them were able to scale the barrier, stepping on European soil. “But, despite the fact that they had a right to stay in Spain according to European and Spanish immigration laws, some police officers tried to grab them to send them back to Morocco.” According to Tripodo, the resulting confrontation severely injured some of the migrants. For the Italian photographer, the tense situation in Melilla is just one aspect of a wider immigration crisis that is affecting the whole of Europe, from [Italy](http://time.com/97822/shining-a-light-on-the-plight-of-europes-migrants-from-rome-to-brussels/ "undefined") and [Greece](http://time.com/3832806/europe-migrant-crisis-photography/ "undefined"), all the way to [France and the U.K](http://time.com/3983113/calais-migrants-camp-jungle/ "undefined"). It’s crisis, he believes, that has yet to be met with an adequate response. “The countries that are most exposed to the flow of migrants — such as Spain, Italy and Greece — lack the resources and funds to take care of this emergency,” he says. Last year, for example, Italy was forced to scrap its Mare Nostrum rescue operations, which used to cost more than 9 million Euros per month. Its replacement is called Operation Triton, whose focus shifted from rescuing migrants to securing the border. In the first six months of 2015, about 2,000 people have died in the Mediterranean. “You can’t stop people from coming to Europe simply by making the route more dangerous or by strengthening the border,” he says. “This doesn’t work, and everyone can see what the consequences are in their newspapers every day: more tragedies and more deaths.” [**_Gianfranco Tripodo_**](http://www.gianfrancotripodo.com/ "undefined") _is an Italian photographer based in Madrid, Spain._ **_Mikko Takkunen_**_, who edited this photo essay, is an Associate Photo Editor at TIME. Follow him on Twitter_ [_@photojournalism_](http://www.twitter.com/photojournalism "undefined")_._ **_Francesca Trianni_** _is a video producer at TIME. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@frantrianni_](https://twitter.com/frantrianni "undefined")_._ **_Olivier Laurent_** _is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on_ [_Twitter_](http://twitter.com/olivierclaurent "undefined") _and_ [_Instagram_](http://instagram.com/olivierclaurent "undefined") _@olivierclaurent_  View of the Mediterrean Sea from the old wall of Melilla. 2013. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  A Malian migrant lays down under a cave used as a shelter in Nador, Morocco in 2012. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  Migrants from Senegal and Guinea gather at their campsite in Gurugu mountain in Nador, Morocco in 2012. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  Moroccan soldiers patrol the border near the town of Beni Enzar, which is bordered on the north by the Spanish-controlled Melilla. 2014. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  Sub-Saharan migrants try to cross the border fence between Morocco and Melilla in 2014. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  A group of Sub-Saharan migrants try to escape from the police in the fields next to the border in Melilla in 2014. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  A Sub-Saharan migrant hides under a vehicle trying to avoid expatriation by the Guardia Civil in Melilla in 2014. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  Guardia Civil members are about to expatriate two Sub-Saharan migrants who have just crossed the fence and are on Spanish soil in Melilla in 2014. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  A Sub-Saharan migrant lays on the ground after a clash with the anti-riot police in Melilla in 2014. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  A young Malian migrant seen near a temporary immigration holding center (not pictured), while Spanish army conduct exercises behind him, in Melilla in 2014. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  A group of Malian migrants seen inside the temporary immigration holding center built by the Spanish Army in Melilla in 2014. Gianfranco Tripodo— Contrasto  Sub-Saharan migrants light a fire in a compound next to the temporary immigration holding center in Melilla in 2014. 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