Residents of Ceuta Call for Calm to Address Migrant Crisis

Residents of the Spanish-held city of Ceuta, in northern Morocco, have called for calm amid plans to organize hundreds of marches across the country in solidarity with this North African enclave, which is experiencing an unprecedented migration crisis that many blame on the central government.

Approximately five weeks after at least 72,000 people crossed from Morocco in a flow that resulted in deaths, Ceuta authorities estimate that more than 10,000 migrants, including unaccompanied minors, remain stranded in temporary camps or scattered across the enclave’s streets and beaches.

The presence of these migrants has sparked near-daily protests by local residents over the Spanish government’s handling of the crisis. Demonstrators are calling for the return of migrants to their countries of origin or for their distribution across Spain.

According to Reuters, Lola, a middle-aged Ceuta resident who spoke only by her first name, said: “The government has failed to take the necessary measures in this critical situation. The situation is increasingly spiraling out of control. We are exhausted... and there will come a point when the situation becomes a powder keg.”

For his part, Francisco Garcia Sijedao, head of the Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations in Ceuta, stated that the organizers wanted the demonstration to be “peaceful and free, without insulting anyone,” and sought to prevent the far-right from participating, amid fears that the arrival of activists from Spain could incite violence.

Sijedao added: “What we want is calm... and a return to normal life. Returning to normal life means sending everyone back to where they came from.” The latest protests saw sporadic attacks on a temporary migrant camp on the “El Trambolin” beach, and the arrest of Moroccans who threw stones and bottles at army patrols.

Meanwhile, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), dominated by the main opposition conservative People’s Party, called for protests across Spain.

The left-wing government, however, distanced itself from this initiative, accusing the right of exploiting the crisis for political gain.