3 months after mass entry, some 15,000 migrants remain in Ceuta
Azdin sits on a wall beside a shopping centre, smoking a cigarette. His grey tracksuit hangs loosely on his slim body. At 21, his face looks older than his years.
He sleeps in makeshift huts, where rain seeps through, and washes at the beach when the weather allows.
"We manage somehow," he said. "Sometimes food comes from Morocco, and locals help us too."
Like thousands of other migrants, Azdin has remained in Ceuta since 100,000 Moroccans and people from farther south entered last July, according to local authorities, in a migration crisis likely fuelled in part by a social media disinformation campaign. The Spanish enclave borders Morocco, though the North African country does not officially recognize it as Spanish territory.
At least 140 people died during the crossing. According to a Spanish police report, more than 88,000 have since returned to Morocco.
Back at home in northern Morocco, Azdin worked 16-hour shifts in a restaurant for just 100 dirhams, or $14 Cdn, a day. Now, he is hiding from authorities, hoping he can somehow reach mainland Europe, where he believes there are better opportunities. (CBC News is identifying him and other migrants interviewed for this story by their first names, due to their fears of being deported.)
Three months after the mass entry, many migrants are hoping similarly. The situation is "extraordinarily serious," said Ceuta's Second Vice-President Kissy Chandiramani. She estimates 15,000 remain around the small enclave, whose population is roughly 80,000.
Chandiramani estimates thousands of migrants are avoiding reception centres for fear of deportation. Since Morocco is considered a safe country under the EU asylum system, many fear their claims will be rejected.
'They came after us'
During his first days, Azdin slept in the forest. When he went into town for food, he encountered the military.
"They came after us in huge trucks. They tried to gather us into a large group and send us back across the border."
Azdin says soldiers beat people trying to escape. He managed to flee. Amnesty International has documented similar alleged violations by Spanish military personnel, including sexual violence and forced expulsions.
Chandiramani said the public prosecutor's office is looking into those allegations, but she cautioned against generalizing all professionals working under extreme circumstances.
She also stressed that the situation has affected locals as well, pointing to restrictions, alleged assaults and disruptions they have faced.
Ceuta is facing a situation far beyond its resources, Chandiramani said, with public expenses expected to exceed €45 million by the end of the year, excluding wider business and employment losses. At the same time, the enclave is caring for 3,626 unaccompanied migrant children — 125 times its normal capacity.
Migrants wait to return to the temporary makeshift camp El Guano near the Trampolin beach in Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta on Oct. 10. (Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)
"Ceuta cannot become the platform through which Spain indefinitely assumes responsibility for caring for Morocco’s children," she said.
Local authorities and residents have blamed the Spanish government for inadequate action and a lack of support.
Although Moroccan King Mohammed VI has called for unaccompanied children to be reunited with their families, the country has yet to respond to the repatriation files submitted by Ceuta, local authorities said.
NGOs say hundreds remain stranded on the streets — like Ayoub, a 17-year-old Moroccan boy who has been homeless for months, despite carrying his birth certificate as proof of his age.
"I go to the police station several times a week, but they never offer me a solution," he told CBC News.
He recounted an incident that happened just hours earlier: Police picked up six people, including him, and drove them on a bus to the Moroccan border.
He says he and two other minors were eventually released after showing proof of their age, while the remaining two adults were sent back.
Allegations of violence, limiting aid
"No one is doing enough," said Francesca Fusaro, local co-ordinator of No Name Kitchen, an NGO providing humanitarian assistance at European borders while documenting abuses.
Fusaro says migrants are receiving limited aid, which she believes is intended to pressure them into returning home.
"People are being beaten every day. Many eventually decide to return, but we cannot call that a voluntary return," she said.
WATCH | The humanitarian challenge:
Ceuta faces humanitarian challenge after surge of migrants
August 4|
Duration
2:06
Roughly 2,000 migrants are left in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after 70,000 surged into the autonomous city last week, leaving humanitarian organizations stretched to their limits.(No Name Kitchen has also been accused of distributing pepper spray and knives to migrants to attack security forces, allegations Fusaro denies, saying they are a discrediting attempt. The Spanish Civil Guard searched its premises and arrested two people as part of an ongoing judicial investigation.)
The crisis has affected Ceuta's neighbourhoods unevenly. The city centre has largely returned to normal, but poorer peripheral areas — many home to its Muslim community — continue to bear the pressure of migrant arrivals.
In the polished city centre, local resident Mohamed Ali is still recovering from the crisis. His stylish café, Aura, opened just seven months before the arrivals, but business quickly declined as customers stayed away. Although guests are slowly returning, Ali blames Madrid.
Local resident Mohamed Ali's business is still recovering from the crisis. (Renée Boskaljon/CBC)
"They had warned about the possibility of an invasion many days beforehand. However, the central government did nothing."
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has denied receiving warnings of the crisis. Yet a document released early September revealed that Spanish intelligence services had warned Madrid and their Moroccan counterparts of a possible mass entry.
'It was hell'
Some NGOs are stepping in to make up for what they view as the government's lack of a response.
San Antonio, a Catholic migrant reception centre, is sheltering dozens of vulnerable migrants. One of its residents is Rachid Gbari, 39, from Morocco. He lost his arm as a teenager after being electrocuted by an exposed streetlight cable; without family support and unable to find work, he was left living on the street.
Rachid Gbari, 39, from Morocco, lost his arm as a teenager after being electrocuted by an exposed streetlight cable. (Renée Boskaljon/CBC)
He fears he will not qualify for protection, citing other Moroccans with disabilities whose asylum claims were rejected.
"If they reject me, I won’t return to Morocco. Even if they kill me, I won’t go back."
Rayane, 19, also stayed at San Antonio before being transferred to a specialized government reception centre.
He fled years of violence and persecution in Morocco because of his sexuality. Although his family now lives in mainland Spain, he says they refused to help him obtain residency because they could not accept that he was gay.
"It was hell. They let me rot," he said.
Rayane fled years of violence and persecution in Morocco because of his sexuality. (Renée Boskaljon/CBC)
"I was hiding my sexuality because if people in Morocco find out that you like boys, it's dangerous. I was beaten many times."
But the violence continued in Ceuta. Rayane says he and other LGBTQ+ migrants have faced attacks. "Some locals kicked me in the face," he said. A faint blue mark remains around his eye.
After he reported the assault, a police officer helped him access the asylum procedure. His application was accepted a few weeks ago.
"My dream now is to go to the Netherlands," he said, where he believes he can build a future without fear.
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