The Rock of Gibraltar lies between Spain and the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta which borders on Morocco. The Rock is surrounded by powerful oceanic cross currents from Atlantic and Mediterranean waters known as The Straits of Gibraltar.

Strategic importance
On a clear day if you climb to the top ridge of the Rock, you can see the Atlas mountains which form the Northern boundary of the Sahara Desert. As whoever occupied the Rock controlled the shipping lanes between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, the strategic importance of Gibraltar was obvious. Geologically the 'Rock' is African; a piece of African limestone tectonically thrust onto the European mainland millions of years ago. Today, apart from housing over 30,000 people and their 12,000 road vehicles, Gibraltar is home to Europe's only wild monkeys; the so- called Barbary Apes. Local legends say that only when the apes leave Gibraltar will it be returned to Spain. Gibraltar's population has been protected by the Rock's strategic role as a British military base. British rule has long been a problem for Spanish politicians since The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The Treaty states that if Britain were to distance itself from Gibraltar then the Rock would automatically revert to Spain. The Gibraltarians want the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to replace this ruling in favour of the general concept of a population's right to self-determination. This basic question has led to major problems in Anglo-Spanish relations.

British
A referendum in 1967 confirmed that over ninety percent of Gibraltarians saw Britain as the defender of their cultural identity. The British Crown appoints a Governor to liaise with the Gibraltar government The Gibraltar Council, whose parliament The House of Assembly is made up of fifteen elected members. Although the Gibraltarians run their own domestic affairs, the Governor is still empowered to determine the Rock's geo-political future. Current opinion is estimated by to be over ninety percent against any form of closer integration with Spain. The Spanish dictator General Franco responded to the 1967 referendum by closing the border in 1969. The closure effectively cut Gibraltar off from mainland Europe. This led to families from La Linea, who had moved to Gibraltar being cut off from their relatives only half a kilometre away. In 1969, there were no fewer than 5000 workers from La Linea who were employed in Gibraltar and thus lost their jobs. The densely populated rock had to house both local people and the British army and navy. The Franco blockade forced the Gibraltarians to provide their own resources. This, from water provision to waste disposal and hospital care, has put enormous pressure on space. The Rock 's total surface area is no more than 5.8 square kilometres. The experience of the 1969 blockade was initially traumatic, but it did lead to a very close sense of community developing in Gibraltar. In many ways Gibraltarians felt protected from the crime, road traffic, and mass tourism of the outside world.

Scars
Gibraltar still bears the scars of being a military base. Parts of the Rock today look like military dumps complete with concrete bunkers and old hardware. Hut the Rock is going through a phase of radical transformation. Marinas are now being built from land reclaimed from the sea along the west coast of the island. Housing pressure and commercial interests are forcing the Gibraltarians to build flats and leisure facilities, in waters claimed by both Britain and Spain. The problem demands co-operation between governments, as the whole area is not only densely populated, but forms the major route to the North for refugees and other migrants from Africa. Spain sees itself in effect policing one of the EU's most sensitive borders. Rational cross-border cooperation is long overdue here.

History
Gibraltar is one of the world's oldest multi-cultural locations. The Rock's history is reflected in its language. Generally Gibraltarians speak Yanita, a form of Andalusian Spanish, mixed with English, Arabic, and many other languages. Gibraltarians are a mixed European and North African community whose inter-religious and racial tolerance has deep roots. The Rock's ethnic mix is the result of 300 years of Mediterranean and Commonwealth immigration. Roman Catholic Europeans, North Africans, Genoese, Maltese, and Malasians have mixed with local Spanish and British settlers. Gibraltar also boasts one of Europe's oldest Jewish communities. The dominant religious groupings are: Roman Catholic ca. 75%, Muslim ca. 10% , Anglican ca. 8%, Jewish ca. 3%. One person who illustrates this Gibraltarian multi-cultural tolerance is poet and police officer Mabel Imossi. Mabel is an accomplished poet and musician. Some of her poetry is inspired by the relationships she develops through community policing. For Mabel, policing Gibraltar is all about community care, and keeping an eye on potential family or community tension. The fact that Mabel writes poetry and can play her policing role in such a warm hearted manner says much for the uniqueness of Gibraltar.

Smuggling paradise
As Gibraltar is still outside the EU customs zone most Spanish governments have regarded it as a smuggling and drug dealers' paradise, a colonial enclave, and a back door for Africa's illegal exports. Since 1985 the border has been open again, but the. tension remains. The main victims of the current border tensions are tourists and, as in 1967, the many guest workers who cross the border daily from the Spanish border town of La Linea, which suffers poverty and high unemployment. In times of high tension they can be kept waiting for up to four hours a day and longer.

National identities
As an ambitious politician, Dr Joseph Garcia often talks to people caught in the border queues and makes parliamentary protests on their behalf, thus winning support for his party. The people of La Linea are also angry about the provocative system of border controls. They too have not forgotten the disastrous effects on the local Spanish economy which resulted from Franco's long blockade. There are two comprehensive state secondary schools in Gibraltar, one for boys and the other for girls. The parents are mostly Roman Catholic or Muslim, so secondary education is still single sex, although the schools are part of the British system. Despite the fact that most of the students have always been bi-lingual in Spanish and English, the level of spoken and written Spanish today is giving cause for concern. The vast majority of school students who go on to higher education will all go to Britain to study. Attitudes towards neighbouring Spain together with its language and culture are generally hostile. The question of national identities is also a headache for the British government. On the one hand Westminster is unwilling to offend Spain by integrating Gibraltar fully into the United Kingdom. On the other hand the Gibraltarians are fed up with their colonial status and being legally subject to the influence of a Governor. Seeing Gibraltar as a colonial enclave, Madrid's politicians expect Britain to return the Rock to Spain once the Treaty of Utrecht expires. Nobody here would accept this. Gibraltar, however, is too small to be independent. The Rock depends on off-shore banking and on the income brought in by the six and half million day trippers each year who buy duty free goods. This is only possible as long as the Rock enjoys off-shore status and does not become a full member of the EU. More pragmatic local politicians in La Linea want joint business ventures with no political arguments, aimed at opening up Gibraltar's airstrip to boost their own economy. Will business interests win out over dogma? Today most Gibraltarians look north towards the European mainland uncertain of what form of constitutional modernisation awaits them.