Teenage Migrant Swimming to Spain Uses Plastic Bottles as Floatation Devices

A teenager tried to swim to Spain by using plastic bottles as flotation devices.  According to reports, the teenage boy is one of 1,500 children and nearly 8,000 thousand total people that seek refuge in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave at the tip of Morocco. 

During the act, Spanish soldiers watched as the boy struggles to finish the swim. He then made his way to the beach, cast off his floatation devices, and ran to scale a wall trying to complete his border crossing. But authorities stopped him and escorted him through a security zone between the two countries. 

Ceuta has long been a destination for refugees looking for a short journey into Europe. Reports say a rush of migrants began a few days earlier when Morocco relaxed its border controls in what is believed to be retaliation for Spain hosting a Western Sahara independence leader. 

Human rights groups have condemned both countries. They have accused Spain of using force and violence, and they claim Morocco was using migrants as pawns in their dispute with Spain.

Spanish divers have rescued several children from the waters, and the government says it is working to address child migrants and safely send back those who have requested to return to their home countries. 

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