Forget rickety boats in the Mediterranean — some people are so desperate to get to Europe, they're smuggling their children in suitcases. Yes, inside suitcases.
Authorities in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, a region that borders Morocco, found Abou, an 8-year-old boy, inside a suitcase being carried by a 19-year-old woman. According to a report by the BBC, the young woman is not related to the little boy, but had been paid by his father to transport him across the border between Morocco and Spain. The boy's father reportedly lives in the Canary Islands and had left his son in Ivory Coast.
The little boy was alive but in dire condition when authorities found him; he is now in custody of Spanish authorities. The young woman is also in custody, and the boy's father has been detained by border guards.
Although fewer refugees have died in recent weeks than in the past, this year has been particulary difficult for people fleeing Africa for the chance of a better life in Europe. Many are still trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya, and last year, thousands illegally crossed the Ceuta border where this little boy was found.
Europeans may be worried about border security and immigration, but if people are so desperate to reunite with their families that they would hide a child in a suitcase, it's time for a serious discussion about how to manage immigration in a more humane way.