Ceuta migrants protest on beach, demand asylum as health services strain

Beach protest

Hundreds of migrants staged a protest on El Trampolín beach in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on Sunday, August 16, demanding asylum and refusing return to Morocco. The protesters held Spanish flags and banners reading "We don't want to go back to Morocco" and "We are also human", chanting "We're tired" and "We need a solution". They are among an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 people who remain in Ceuta after a mass border crossing on July 30 and 31 that saw over 72,000 people surge into the territory of about 80,000 residents. The vast majority returned voluntarily to Morocco in the following days. According to NOS, the crossing cost at least 141 people their lives. Moroccan authorities on the other side of the border arrested hundreds more people attempting to reach Ceuta by land or sea.

Ayoub Elarroud, a migrant from Morocco's Tetouan, described the conditions on the beach.

We're sleeping next to the sea, with cold and bad smells. We're suffering a lot.

He added that police were blocking migrants from going to the city centre.

Government response

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who visited Ceuta on August 13, said migrants who entered irregularly would not be allowed to stay in the enclave, travel to mainland Spain, or obtain legal status, except in rare cases of extreme vulnerability. He announced reinforcement of specialised immigration police to accelerate expulsions. The local government of Ceuta has asked that asylum not be granted to the remaining migrants, fuelling fears of mass expulsions among those camped on the beach.

Estimates of how many migrants remain vary by source. The central government puts the figure at at least 5,000, while the local government estimates between 8,000 and 12,000. Reuters and other agencies cite a range of 5,000 to 8,000, and La Repubblica reports approximately 10,000, many of whom are minors.

Health crisis

Enrique Roviralta, head of Ceuta's medical board, told Onda Cero radio that healthcare workers were exhausted and criticised the slow response by the central government in Madrid. He reported outbreaks of infectious diarrhoea, scabies, gastroenteritis and tuberculosis among the migrants, as well as rising violence-related injuries including broken noses and stab wounds. Heat stroke and skin damage from sun exposure have also been documented.

Health Minister Mónica García arrived in Ceuta on Sunday to a hostile reception from local residents. She rejected claims that health services had collapsed, stating that no operations, appointments or care had been suspended and none were expected to be. According to Rai News, García confirmed that approximately 5,800 migrants had been assisted over the previous two weeks.

To associate migration with illness is unjust and xenophobic.

She added that the epidemiological risk was moderate for migrants and low for residents. Emergency services have assisted five rape victims, all migrants, García said.

The emergency is not in the hospital, but outside, on the street.

She called for safe and hygienic reception centres for migrants in Ceuta.

Conditions on the ground

Most migrants are living in precarious conditions on El Trampolín beach or the city's outskirts, sleeping in improvised huts made of reeds and cardboard. NGOs including the Red Cross and Médicos del Mundo are providing assistance. On Friday, the local government began moving unaccompanied girls and teenagers from a sports centre to two warehouses; under Spanish law, unaccompanied minors cannot be summarily returned. Most Moroccan migrants told Reuters they left because of poor working conditions despite holding qualifications. Mohammed Ouanzar, a 39-year-old automation specialist from Fez, cited average monthly salaries of 3,000 dirham ($324). Among the migrants are also Nigerian and Bangladeshi nationals.