Thousands of people protested across Spain on Wednesday over the continuing migrant and asylum-seeker crisis in Ceuta, a Spanish territory on Africa’s northern coast. Roughly 50,000 people gathered in Madrid, while demonstrators in Ceuta carried Spanish and city flags and chanted slogans including “Expel the invaders.”
The protests took place on Ceuta Day, a local holiday marking Portugal’s takeover of the city in the 15th century, and came a little more than a month after more than 70,000 migrants and asylum seekers crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31. At least 80 people died in the surge.
Migrants remain in need of shelter and aid
Many of those who crossed have returned to Africa, but some remain in Ceuta. The Spanish government estimates that about 5,000 people are still there, including 1,200 minors, while local statistics put the number higher. Some migrants and asylum seekers sleep on beaches.
Among those still in the territory is Otman Ianaya, 40, who swam to Ceuta with his wife and two young daughters. He said he was seeking better prospects because there was no work in Morocco. Some people are also seeking asylum because of alleged persecution in their home countries. For additional context, see “Thousands remain exposed in Ceuta one week after mass influx”.
The Spanish government has expanded emergency housing and increased funding for social services, but critics say the response is inadequate for the scale of the needs. Halima Ahmed of the nongovernmental organisation Luna Blanca, which distributes food and aid, said vulnerable people needed empathy and that public frustration did not justify violence.
Violence and political divisions deepen the dispute
The pressure has been linked to isolated incidents of violence, including fights, the stoning of a military patrol and reports of sexual assault. Residents have also clashed with police and burned belongings of migrants and asylum seekers. Protester Gema Guillen described the situation as chaotic and said residents felt unable to go out onto the streets. A related part of this story is covered in “How online networks amplified narratives during the Ceuta crisis”.
Ceuta’s regional leader, Juan Jesus Vivas of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, has called the crisis a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity. Territorial policy minister Angel Victor Torres has accused conservative and far-right opponents of using the situation to attack Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government rather than assist Ceuta.
Sanchez has blamed the mass crossing on a misread court ruling and online disinformation that he said encouraged people to cross the border. He also said negative coverage was amplified by Russian- and Israeli-linked accounts, citing Spanish intelligence findings but offering no proof in his public comments. The development of this issue can be followed in “Italy rejects Spain’s demand to end border checks”.
What happens next
Madrid has pledged 309 million euros ($357m) in aid for Ceuta, while the government’s emergency housing and social-service measures continue amid the dispute over how to respond to those who remain.
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