"Tarifa Traffic": the Story of African Refugees Film at the Ottoman Bank Museum

Under the theme "Time, Place and Life Stories," the Museum's movie theater is showing the German Swiss production, Tarifa Traffic, on Thursday, May 11, at 7:00 p.m. The film, directed by Joakim Demmer, views the struggle of illegal African immigrants trying to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco into Tarifa, in southern Spain, both from the perspective of the refugees and that of the inhabitants of Tarifa. Following the screening, Metin Çorabatır, Director of Exterior Relations of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, coducts a discussion entitled, "Managing Immigration: Humane Solutions."

Every year, thousands of illegal immigrants from Africa try to cross the strait between Morocco and Spain in rubber boats. A lot of them succeed, but many don't. In the surfers' paradise Tarifa it has become an almost daily routine to find their bodies washed up on the beach. Tarifa Traffic tells the story of the drowned  while considering as well  how the issue affects the residents of Tarifa. Indirectly, the film poses the question of European responsibility: "How much longer can this go on?"

The Museum's film program is prepared in collaboration with the Documentary Filmmakers Association (BSB) and offers a film, complemented by a discussion, on a different theme every week. Screenings are held free of charge. Please call (0212) 334 22 70 to make reservations.