HUNDREDS of migrants still roaming the streets of Ceuta after last month’s unprecedented border crossing have staged a protest demanding the right to claim asylum in Spain.
Between 5,000 and 8,000 people are believed to remain in the north African enclave after the mass crossing two weeks ago, when more than 70,000 migrants poured in from neighbouring Morocco in the single largest day of irregular arrivals in European Union history.
On Sunday, around 200 of those who are yet to return launched a spontaneous protest at an improvised settlement on Trampolin beach, a makeshift camp of plastic sheeting and tarpaulin hosting hundreds of migrants.
Members of the group held banners written in Spanish reading, ‘We don’t want to return to Morocco!’ and ‘We are human too’, while protesters chanted ‘We are tired’ and ‘We need a solution’.
Some Spanish flags were also visible among the crowd, who were reportedly encouraged to protest by NGOs and support groups working in the area.
Mohammed Ouanzar, a 39-year-oild automation specialist from Fez in Morocco, said average salaries of around 3,000 dirhams – approximately €280 – made it impossible to buy a home or start a family.
“I would rather die than go back,” he told news agency Reuters. “Once I set foot on Spanish soil, I felt I had been reborn.”
Emmanuel, a 30-year-old electrician from north-east Nigeria, said he made a four-month journey through Niger, Algeria and Morocco after his children stopped attending school for fear of being kidnapped by terrorists.
“I am fighting for a better life for them,” he said.
Despite their plea, the migrants will likely receive short shrift from authorities in Madrid, with interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska insistent that none of those who entered Ceuta illegally will be allowed to remain there or travel to mainland Spain.
“No person who enters or attempts to enter Ceuta or Melilla irregularly will stay, will go to the peninsula or will be regularised,” he said, adding that the message was intended to discourage migrants from using criminal trafficking gangs.
The mass crossing on July 30 and 31 led to more than 100 deaths and a diplomatic spat between Spain and Italy, after the country’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni suspended the passport-free Schengen zone agreement amid fears some of the arrivals, the majority of whom have since left Ceuta, would travel to mainland Europe.
Over the weekend, Moroccan authorities said they made more than 100 arrests after a fresh wave of migrants attempted to reach Spanish territory.
Police detained 111 people, according to Moroccan security personnel, after a large group prepared to cross into Ceuta from Fnideq, a town located about 3km from the border.
Officers clad in riot gear reportedly used tear gas to disperse groups of migrants gathered around the city, amid fears of another catastrophic breach of border security.
According to news agency Reuters, the detainees included 109 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and two Moroccan citizens.
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