A SEA of people coloured in red and yellow gathered in front of Estepona’s municipality building, waving the Spanish flag proudly.
It was an eye-catching display, but certain flags stood out to me; they didn’t have the typical Spanish colours. Instead, the flags were white, with black letters on them: the flag of Ceuta.
It was just one gathering of hundreds in towns and cities across Spain, five weeks after a surge of migrants overwhelmed the border between Spain and Morocco, and flooded Ceuta with unwelcome and unwanted guests.
“Today we are gathered here,” the Mayor of Estepona, Jose Maria Gracia Urbano, starts his speech: “To stand in solidarity with our sister city: Ceuta.”
He barely makes it through the first sentences as the crowd starts to scream: “We are Spanish! We are Spanish! Ceuta is Spanish!” as they wave their flags and dance around.
The protests were held across all of Spain, attracting thousands of people in major cities. In Madrid roughly 50,000 people came together, in Valencia 25,000 and in Ceuta itself, 20,000 people took to the streets.
“To show how much we support Ceuta,” the mayor continues: “We will now raise the Ceuta flag! Estepona for Ceuta!” The Ceutan flag – as a Ukrainian flag once did – now hangs next to Estepona. Fluttering in the wind.
The crowd cheer as they embrace each other in happiness, but the chant soon changes in tone: “Pedro Sanchez you son of a b**ch!” they scream.
I am surprised to see the unity: people from all ages – little kids up until elderly with walking sticks – all angrily demand Spain’s President Sanchez to step down.
It’s a curious sight, as in the Netherlands, where I am from, Sanchez is not known for bad leadership, but rather described as Europe’s only ‘sensible’ leader. His firm handling of Trump, and open, rapid disapproval of the war in Gaza, have been largely praised.
So why is then, that people are so angry?
“I don’t trust either party in Madrid”, Jesus Mesa explains to me – a Ceuta local. “Sanchez has done nothing for us.”
READ MORE: Ceuta woman arrested after allegedly stabbing Moroccan migrant cousin to death
“We need help, not just from Spain, but all of Europe,” he continues:
“We were being invaded by 60.000 people (official figures have put it nearer 80.000), that is almost the population of Ceuta.” His shirt has the name ‘Ceuta’ written on them in capital letters, while he wears the Spanish flag as a cape.
“It’s not just bad for those who are seeking a better life, but also for us,” he says worriedly: “We don’t know who is coming into our country; there could be criminals or terrorists among them.”
From the estimated 80.000 migrants who arrived on July 30, around 5,000 of them still remain in Ceuta today.
Among those, over 2000 are minors. The government has promised they will be transferred to the mainland – which led to backlash from certain regions, especially those governed or co-governed by the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and far-right Vox.
“We are Ceuta, Ceuta IS Spanish,” a local protester, who does not want to share her name, tells me: “We have the support from Estepona to Cadiz” her husband behind her holds up the Ceuta flag for me to see: “We will never be kicked out of Spain.” She says determinedly.
When I ask her how she feels about the government’s approach, she laughs: “Approach to what?” she says sarcastically: “They are as useless as always.”
I feel their frustration in more than just their chants, their faces and voices clearly demonstrate just how fed-up they are.
Then, amidst all the chaos, the crowd goes silent, and the national anthem is blasted through the speakers.
The flags wave melodically to the sound. Several people started crying.
Despite the body of water between them: today they feel like one.
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Totally biased article. Interesting how you left out the fight the protesters got into with journalists and the masked neo-NAZIS who showed up?
Here’s the thing. This was a blatantly political rally and you portrayed it like some feel-good support group for Ceuta. If Vox and the PP TRULY wanted to support Ceuta, they shouldn’t refuse to take in unaccompanied minors as the law requires them to. They should have more COMPASSION and stop calling CHILDREN “invaders.” The leftist party Adelante Andalucia pointed out this march was totally performative, given Vox and the PP’s refusal to actually do something concrete to help Ceuta or the migrants.
You also didn’t mention the thousands who showed up to protest racism as a counter to the neo-Nazis and far right haters.
Also, while Sanchez has struggled to handle the crisis, HE WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR IT. You really need to get the facts before you write a propaganda piece for the far right.
Whose side are you on Olive Press? Likely with the migrants, better off minding your own business and keeping your liberal nose out of it. You’ve already destroyed your own country with your migrant tolerance. Please keep your migrant tolerance out of Spain, no body wants it. Keep Spain homogeneous!