Migrants, police chase and golfers: no, this is not Photoshopped
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At the forefront of the photo, two people are busy playing golf. Just behind them, migrants are scaling a giant fence to try to get away from the police. This photo, which was taken in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, was posted online Wednesday by the NGO Prodein and quickly started circulating. Many Internet users were convinced it had to be a photomontage. But this photo
This photo, published on Twitter on Wednesday by José Palazon from the NGO Prodein in Medilla, rapidly circulating on social media.
At the forefront of the photo, two people are busy playing golf. Just behind them, migrants are scaling a giant fence to try to get away from the police.
This photo, which was taken in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, was posted online Wednesday by the NGO Prodein and quickly started circulating. Many Internet users were convinced it had to be a photomontage. But this photo is indeed real.
Examples of reactions on Twitter. The first person asks if it possible to see photos taken from a different angle to verify the authenticity of the image. The second asks if there’s really a golf course on the border between Melilla and Morocco. The third person says this must be a photomontage and asks for confirmation.
The photo was taken in the early afternoon of October 22 next to Melilla’s golf course. The photo’s angle makes it appear that the fence is adjacent to the golf course, but in fact several hundred metres and a road separate the two.
A map of the exact spot the photo was taken, according to our Observer.
“One must not conclude that Melilla residents don’t care about the migrants’ fate”
Robert Bonet is a freelance photographer. He knows Melilla’s border well. He recently shared his eyewitness account of police violence there with FRANCE 24.This photo surprised people because it shows the contrast between rich Europeans and dirt poor Africans who are ready to do whatever it takes to get to Europe. But one must not conclude that Melilla residents don’t care about the migrants’ fate – every day, I meet very worried people who try to come to their aid. Playing golf and worrying about this situation are not incompatible.
The photo’s author, José Prodein, who is the director of Prodein, told Spanish daily “El Pais” he was surprised his photograph was relayed more than 200 times on Twitter. He said that for him, the image symbolizes “the differences between the north and the south”.
On Wednesday, Melilla police announced that 400 people had tried to climb over the triple-fence that separates Morocco and the Spanish enclave.