Border control is out of control

It is without doubt one of the most iconic migration images of 2014. On 22 October, some dozen undocumented African migrants are caught on camera by a Spanish activist as they straddle the triple fence surrounding Melilla, a Spanish enclave in North Africa. Outside lies the wild grass and craggy rocks of the Moroccan borderlands; inside awaits a verdant golf lawn. The two golfers, indifferent to the fence-straddlers, are dressed in immaculate whites; the migrants, in shabby rags. To their right a border guard in riot gear eases himself onto the fence, ready to confront those trespassing on the manicured gardens of “Fortress Europe”.