The two Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the north Moroccan coast is where Africa meets Europe and for centuries it's been a melting pot of dreams and aspirations. Now it's the front-line of Fortress Europe, the gateway of illegal immigration.

The migrants mainly come from sub-Saharan Africa escaping war and hunger. Many head for Ceuta and are picked up on the outskirts by the immigration experts, the Moroccan mafia. Where once they used to smuggle tobacco and hashish into Europe, now they deal in migrants.

In Ceuta the outlook is bleak, as the rickety boats which attempt to take the migrants across are no match for the Gibraltar straits. If they’re lucky they're picked up by Spanish patrols and returned to Ceuta. There the Spanish authorities have no choice but to house them. Without papers and an identity they cannot be sent back to an unknown country. And so many spend months in overcrowded and poorly sanitised camps waiting for another opportunity which will take them across.

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