In Melilla, the border town between Africa and Europe, mobs gather to fight for the scraps of a booming business. Moroccans from the nearby city of Nador smuggle tons of merchandise with their bare hands from the Spanish enclave to the African main land. Meanwhile, Global economy moves on inextricably oblivious of its influence over simple human beings.

It is seven o'clock in the morning in the Spanish town of Melilla on the African continent. As soon as the customs house opens, thousands of Moroccans cross the border. While the Moroccan officers turn a blind eye, the couriers bring huge bags of clothes and other merchandise from Spain to Africa.

The men and women of all ages are hired by traders for a pittance. Most smugglers have no choice, as there is no alternative labor for unskilled workers in the area. The illegal importats are the only source of income for around 10,000 Moroccan families in this poor region.

The work is extremely tough and dangerous. People are being used as pack animals and often get beaten up. Filmmaker Juan Luis De No records all of this, filming at times with a hidden camera, the wild scramble over existence. He follows four smugglers at work and at home, where they live in poverty. They would like to leave Morocco forever, but their passports only allow them to travel for a few hours to Melilla, the mirage of Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar.

IDFA (Silver Wolf), Doc a Tunis, Bergamo,
Geneva