Visa Arrives the Day She Drowns: Moroccan Footballer Dies in Ceuta Crossing

Faten Ben Omar El Azizi spent years chasing a better life. She played football for Maghreb Atlético Tetuán in Morocco’s regional league, wearing a kit that mirrored the colors of Spain’s Atlético Madrid. Football was her dream. Last month, she joined a mass attempt to cross into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on Morocco’s coast. Nearly 150 people died in the illegal crossing. Faten was one of them. The cruelest part came after her death. Her mother was told that Faten’s visa to Spain had just been approved—on the very day she drowned.