Thousands Still Stranded After Mass Arrival Surge in Ceuta

Between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants are estimated to still be in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, following the arrival of a mass influx many times larger last week.

During his visit to the European Parliament, Ceuta’s leader, Juan Jesús Vivas, expressed ‘deep sorrow’ over the ‘irreplaceable tragedy’ of the 100 deaths that occurred after around 78,000 migrants from Morocco arrived by sea in just a matter of hours.

Vivas, who comes from the conservative faction, criticised the Spanish central government’s response. He said he had conveyed directly to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that the government’s actions were deemed late and inadequate.

‘The fact that we do not have exact figures on how many are still in Ceuta shows how few resources we have to deal with this situation,’ said the Mayor and President of Ceuta.

Although the return of almost 75,000 migrants to Morocco has ‘greatly alleviated’ the situation, Vivas stressed that conditions in Ceuta have not returned to normal. Humanitarian emergency responses and public order disruptions are still occurring. Furthermore, the repatriation of minors is deemed ‘almost impossible’ because it requires their own consent.

Spain’s Interior Minister stated that the government has allocated €25 million to help handle migrant children in Ceuta. However, the newspaper El Mundo reported that volunteer groups have recorded 4,860 migrant children, twice the government’s official estimate.

‘Local residents are sheltering them in their own homes, but this situation is no longer sustainable,’ a volunteer told El Mundo.

To date, no migrant children have been transferred to mainland Spain due to the unwillingness of local authorities from the right-wing faction to accept them.

Regarding the trigger for the surge in arrivals, EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner indicated the involvement of criminal networks spreading disinformation, a statement also endorsed by Sánchez. The mass arrival occurred after Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants stopped at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be summarily returned to Morocco.

Seeing the current condition of its citizens, Vivas characterised the incident as an ‘unambiguous attack’.

‘Our community feels sad, helpless, anxious, afraid, and worried, and they have strong reasons for that, because it is impossible not to wonder whether this will happen again,’ Vivas concluded.

The crisis in Ceuta has also triggered diplomatic rifts among European Union countries that share open borders within the Schengen area. Italy, supported by Finland and Denmark, has even suspended the Schengen arrangement with Spain.