After first reading The Crossing I remember being filled with uneasiness and worry, knowing that the fate of Bambino and many like him was uncertain, given the extremely low percentage of people who manage to scale the fence separating Morocco and one of the detention centers on EU soil. Especially since his first attempt to cross was filled with difficulty in the form of too many guards on the other side, the odds of him making it were anything but high. Nevertheless, I was initially really pleased to hear that he managed to get across on his own.

However that delight soon faded as I understood what Bambino now faces as a minor within the immigration detention center he is now trapped in until he is turns eighteen. He faces beating, bullying, food deprivation, amongst other things within his cell. But the aspects that are the most difficult to read and understand are what will happen when he is eighteen. He can apply for asylum or refugee status, but even this is not even guaranteed. With this said, even more questions arise from the situation. What determines his ability to successfully apply? Since many individuals burn their identification cards, making it harder for them to be sent back to their home country, how does this application process continue? This also leads into the topic of “push back,” in which individuals who do make it over are often sent back, sometimes to a desert area hundreds if not thousands of miles away from home. This is illegal yet it continues to happen. Understanding these factors, it is clear that the other side is no more fulfilling or hopeful than the camps where many prepare for the crossing. If anything there is an even greater sadness knowing that someone like Bambino is trapped, with no idea of what will come in the following years.