After the loss of her family’s main Source of income, Mustapha, 14, a good student who finished her first year of college in the spring of 2021, is obsessed with the idea of leaving her province of M’diq-Fnideq where the rate of Unemployment is around 18%, double the national rate, reports Streetpress. His mother tried to dissuade him, but his obsession was greater than she imagined. Especially since the teenager knows that thousands of people have left the city since March 2020. Why not him?, he explains to his mother. “There is no future for me here. I have to leave,” he convinces himself. In May 2021, the miner reached his goal. He arrives in Valencia, the third largest city in Spain. He joins a hostel, goes back to school and gets good grades. The teenager often comes into contact with his mother. “Look mom how tidy my room is, I even make my bed!” », he rejoices in a video call with his mother.
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Two years later, his life turned upside down. He drops out of school again. The home too. In March 2023, the Spanish services published a missing person notice. Mustapha has in the meantime left Spain for France, without his mother knowing. Afterwards, he cuts off all contact with her. In France, he hangs out in the streets of Barbès alongside other much older migrants. Very early on, he became addicted to drugs and notably consumed Lyrica and Rivotril, called “saroukh” (the rocket) and “madame courage” by North African kids. He and other miners lead a “thug” life. Mustapha was the subject of seven reports from the police for acts of “aggravated theft” in less than six months. He will be incarcerated in pre-trial detention in the juvenile section of Villepinte prison, September 2023 while awaiting his judgment. Then comes the time of remorse in his 8m2 cell.
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After a month of incarceration, Mustapha received six months in prison with a full probationary suspension for his acts of “aggravated violence”. After four weeks of confinement, but he will no longer be the same. ” He became crazy “. He avoids talking about his stay in prison, but he falls back into the same mistakes. On the morning of October 2, 2023, Mustapha “was found curled up in the fetal position, unconscious, in the toilets of a restaurant. A window was broken and the establishment was in disarray. The cash base has disappeared. » The teenager is not in a normal state. The medication given to him by a friend made him lose all his memories, he explained to the judge when he returned to court. He doesn’t know what happened in this restaurant. He’s in court again. He collapses in front of the staff of the education service responsible for the social investigation. He does not want to return to prison. But he will be sent behind bars despite his physical and psychological state. The desire to commit suicide crosses his mind. At night, the guards found Mustapha hanging in his cell in the minor district of Villepinte (93), less than 24 hours after his arrival. He will immediately be admitted to hospital. A month later, the 16-year-old died.
