Hundreds of migrant children remain stranded in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta following a mass crossing from Morocco earlier in the week. Local officials report that over 800 minors are currently in the territory, many facing a precarious present and an uncertain future.
One 17-year-old girl, who arrived seeking better opportunities, described the harrowing journey. She told an Associated Press journalist that she and her family joined a large crowd attempting to swim around a border fence into Ceuta. During the chaotic surge, her 8-year-old brother drowned in the Mediterranean, and she became separated from her mother.
She recounted witnessing Spanish police recover her brother's body and described the desperation of the children now begging on the streets. She has been receiving some assistance from locals but found the government-run youth center for minors was full.
Spanish authorities confirmed that approximately 60,000 people crossed into Ceuta during the surge, with 72 deaths reported, primarily in the water. Morocco reported an additional 11 deaths. Of the original arrivals, between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants avoided expulsion and remain in Ceuta.
While Spanish law allows adult migrants to apply for asylum, with a high bar for humanitarian protection for Moroccans, unaccompanied minors are supposed to receive care and protection from Spanish authorities. However, the city's migrant center, with a capacity for 600 people, is now completely full. Reports indicate that food is scarce among the migrants.
Many of the Moroccan adults who arrived have either returned home voluntarily or were pushed back by Spanish police. The population remaining in Ceuta includes significant numbers of individuals from other countries, including Sudan, Gaza, Afghanistan, and other African nations.
Migration activists suggest that the strategy employed by authorities is to use hunger, thirst, and exhaustion to compel migrants to voluntarily return to Morocco. Many migrants are sleeping on beaches or hillsides surrounding Ceuta, with mainland Europe visible across the sea as their ultimate destination.