Ayoub Akbili needed money for his mother's surgery. Hamza Khaybouri wanted a chance at a professional football career. Abdelouahed Iken dreamed of the glamorous life his friend from Italy portrayed on Facebook.
So, when they heard rumors that Morocco's border with Spain was open, they decided to join the crowd and try to reach Europe.
All three died trying to cross the border, becoming victims of the deadliest migrant crisis between Morocco and Spain, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Fueled by misinformation, poverty and a lack of opportunity, more than 70.000 migrants from Morocco and other countries have swum or climbed over breakwaters in the past month in an attempt to reach Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the North African coast. Official figures say at least 90 people have died trying to cross the border, while human rights groups say the death toll is much higher. Many families have yet to claim the bodies of their loved ones.
Almost all of the survivors have returned to Morocco, and both countries have stepped up security measures. Moroccan and Spanish authorities have blamed the mass border crossing attempt on rumors spread on social media and people smuggling networks, while migrants have cited unemployment and low wages as the main reasons.
Mass appeal
The AP says Akbili, 31, lived in Tangier, about an hour's drive from the Moroccan coastal city of Fnidek. He had been thinking about leaving the country for some time, but friends and family say he had never considered crossing the border illegally before.
He graduated in physics but couldn't find a job in his field, so he worked in an auto parts factory. He earned about $421 a month, slightly more than the average wage in the North African country.
Fueled by ambitions to become a regional automotive hub, Morocco's economy is expected to grow 4,5 percent this year. But as the AP points out, authorities still face a long-term challenge: how to translate that growth into better-paying jobs.
Akbili was working the 14pm to 22pm shift when he saw posts on Facebook about people crossing into Ceuta. He wanted to try his luck, hoping to find a job that would allow him to help his mother pay for her hernia surgery.
"He completely changed his mind. From someone who never thought about illegal migration at all, he became someone who wanted to leave at all costs," Abdelhakim Sadaoui, Akbili's cousin and roommate, told the AP.
Akbili convinced Sadaoui to come with him. On July 31, the two paid a driver $129 to take them near the border with Ceuta, the equivalent of two months' rent.
When they arrived, according to Sadaoui, there was complete chaos. From a distance, the crowd looked like ants, he said, as the streets filled with people heading for the border. Police, he said, fired stun grenades and tear gas in an attempt to disperse them.
Sadawi decided not to continue. Akbili continued. They stayed in touch by phone. Then Akbili stopped answering.
A Moroccan Interior Ministry document, seen by the AP, says Akbili died at midnight on July 31. His death was described as “unnatural,” and the cause was listed as “severe head trauma.” He was buried in his hometown of Khenifra.
His family was told he died after falling from a cliff. The Interior Ministry said one of the 11 deaths recorded on the Moroccan side was the result of a cliff fall.
However, his relative suspects that Akbili died under suspicious circumstances and is calling for further investigation.
"His phone and wallet were intact. How is that possible if he fell off a cliff?" Zakaria Akbili told the AP.
Football dreams led him to his death
Hamza Hajbouri, who played for Moroccan second division club Kenitra Athletic, dreamed of making a big football career in Europe, said his childhood friend Bilal Ratib.
Haibouri, 28, was on holiday in Martil, a Moroccan coastal town about 40 kilometres from Ceuta, when he saw people heading there and decided to join them. News of his death during the chaotic attempt to cross the border was announced by his football team's fan club.
Ratib said that Hajburi visited France as a young man and had always wanted to return.
"He always wanted to live abroad and go to France, to play better football and have a better life," Ratib said.
“He was a great man. Even when we were young and reckless, he would always go to the mosque early for the first prayer,” Ratib said. “He was very religious.”
Highbury made his living solely from football, earning about $540 a month while he was playing. However, he hasn't played at all this year, Ratib said.
Families learned of the death via Facebook
Abdelouahed Iken (19) was finishing high school in the southern city of Agadir. He often looked at photos on Facebook posted by his friend who had moved to Italy.
When he heard rumors that the border with Ceuta was open, he asked his mother for money to travel to his home village.
But instead of going home, Iken and his friends headed more than 850 kilometers north to Ceuta, said family member Hussein Zligui. He said he learned of Iken's death through Facebook, and the family is now trying to get his body back home.
Iken didn't know how to swim, so he bought a life jacket for the crossing. Friends who returned told the family they saw him struggling in the water before he drowned, Zligui said.
AP writes that for many Moroccans, Europe represents a chance for jobs, stability and a better future. Those who manage to go abroad often return home with designer clothes, cars and euros, becoming symbols of success - but also the object of envy.
According to government data, Moroccans living abroad sent home $6,6 billion in the first six months of this year, more than three percent of the country's gross domestic product.
High costs of transporting bodies
Families were asked to pay around 2.500 euros to transport the bodies of their loved ones home from Ceuta, Ratib and Zligui said.
The AP was unable to confirm the amount. Transferring bodies from Spain to Morocco generally requires approval from the Moroccan consulate and a Spanish document for the transport of remains. Moroccan regulations typically require a sealed coffin and a certificate that death was not due to a contagious disease.
A spokesman for the Ceuta government said Friday that the paperwork for the transfer of the bodies of those killed in the attempted crossing had been completed, but that the Moroccan government had not accepted it. The Moroccan government did not respond to an AP email with detailed questions about what is holding up the transfer of the bodies, who is responsible for covering the costs and whether it will help families pay for the return of their loved ones' remains.
Autopsies on 82 migrants whose bodies washed ashore in Spain have been completed, said Manuel Aparsero, director of Ceuta's forensic team.
Highbury's sister took a DNA test so authorities in Ceuta could confirm her brother's identity. Authorities gave her his ID card and driver's license, but they did not allow her to see the body, Ratib said.
“It will take about 20 days, or more, for the body to be returned,” he said. “You can’t even imagine the suffering of the families.”
The network of migration unions in Morocco has called on Morocco and Spain to bear the costs of returning the bodies of the victims to their families.
Upon returning to Tangier, Sadaoui moved in with colleagues. He could not bear to live in an apartment without Akbili.
“At the border, he told me, ‘I’ll never come back,’” Sadaoui said. “And indeed, he never will.”
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