CEUTA, Spain—An abandoned warehouse complex overlooking the Moroccan border in this tiny Spanish territory has become a squalid village, with hundreds of migrants living under sheets tied to the sides of buildings and sleeping on broken-down cars and ripped sofas.
Elma Saiz, the minister for inclusion, social security and migration, said food and basic healthcare had been provided daily to 4,000 migrants by the Red Cross. She said the government, in conjunction with the international organization, had allocated 6.5 million euros of emergency funds to cope with the new arrivals.
“I have been deprived of my human rights to freedom and security,” said Immaculada Heras Carmona, on the verge of tears. “This city is sick,” she said of the conditions. Most of the migrants said they had no plans to leave Ceuta—unless they were headed for continental Europe. Community leaders in Ceuta said if the stalemate isn’t resolved soon, it will put the safety of both the migrants and residents here at risk. Hamad, the community leader, says she is reaching a breaking point. “It breaks your heart when you see a person who has been waiting for two hours, and you have nothing to offer,” she said.
She and her friends go jogging in groups for their safety. “What is the army doing? I am not against immigration. But it’s out of control. A community leader in Ceuta, Sabah Hamad, has been collecting donations to feed hundreds of migrants a day. She usually starts her mornings stepping around dozens of young men who sleep outside her home hoping for food or a fresh shower. She also acknowledged the great work that had been done by community organizations in Ceuta to assist the migrants. “We can’t go on like this. Moroccans, they have to get out.”
