Just under a month has passed since the sudden, mass arrival of approximately 80,000 mostly Moroccans and sub-Saharan Africans in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta (population 83,000) on 30 and 31 July. Some 8,000 remain in the city on the North African coast.
The government’s most immediate problem is where to accommodate them. At the moment thousands of migrants are still sleeping rough on the streets or in the surrounding countryside.
Ceuta’s local newspaper, El Faro, reports that the Education Ministry announced last night that when pupils return on 8 September, there will be uniformed security on school routes, at entrances and exits, during break times, and around schools in the afternoons and overnight. The Guardia Civil, national police, local police and the Armed Forces will all be involved. The ministry is also introducing psychological support for pupils and families because it acknowledges that the crisis is causing anxiety among children.
The government has classified Ceuta as a national security crisis
El Faro also reports that the Luna Blanca charity is accommodating approximately 370 women and girls. They receive three meals a day, but there are still no lavatories or washing facilities. The neighbourhood association president says they leave each morning to ‘find a way’ to wash. One of the local volunteers said: ‘I need some rest. We haven’t had holidays, or a summer, or anything. We’re exhausted, shattered.’ Another resident said simply: ‘All we want is for this to end and for them to move them out of here.’
