Ceuta struggles with emergency as hundreds of migrants seek shelter

A drone cuts through the fog between Ceuta and Morocco, over the El Tarajal border crossing where dense mist once offered migrants a chance to attempt the swim into the city. Now, almost nobody crosses illegally, and only a small trickle enters legally. An even smaller number leave.

Most remain in Ceuta, confronting another border that may sound semantic but is not: the divide between those who call them “invaders” and those who still call them “migrants.” More than a month after the mass crossing, the city has settled into the illusion of returning to normal while its failure to address the abnormal becomes increasingly visible.

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Of course, because it is a peaceful protest, and we are not calling them invaders or saying 'Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch,' they do not want to come. And since they are sending them here, to the outskirts, nobody cares.

Peripheral neighborhoods have carried the greatest burden from the start. Government reception centers have reduced the number of people sleeping in the streets, but they remain nowhere near large enough. At Loma Colmenar, one of the newest centers, hundreds crowd outside waiting for a vacancy. They do not leave, even though no one is being expelled to make room.

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And on top of that, they are not going to put women and children here, they are going to bring men. Does nobody see the problem with having them right next to a kindergarten?

Those who secure a place wear identification bracelets in different colors, depending on when they arrived. They have no documents, only a number written in permanent marker, an arbitrary figure that now provides a status and a bed. Police officers guarding the avenue wear masks because the smell is as intense as the neighbors’ unease.

In nearby Los Rosales, about a dozen residents gather around a large site where workers are building another facility for migrants. The planned center would house 900 people opposite a kindergarten scheduled to open on September 28 for 176 children. Many parents oppose sharing the space. Residents have mobilized throughout the week to stop the construction, but fewer than two dozen people have attended. Desirée, one of those keeping watch, says the protest has drawn little support because it is peaceful and the facility is being placed on the outskirts. Ana María says the neighborhood is already saturated and objects to housing men beside a kindergarten. Behind them, the crane continues working.

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Take them to the center!