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Families anxiously seek loved ones lost in Ceuta migrant crisis
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Disasters & Emergencies

Families anxiously seek loved ones lost in Ceuta migrant crisis

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Moroccan families are anxiously waiting at the border with Ceuta for news of their relatives who entered the Spanish enclave during a mass migration event.
  • Around 60,000 people crossed the border in 24 hours, with Spanish authorities reporting at least 67 deaths, mostly from drowning.
  • Families are seeking information through phone calls and by questioning returning migrants, facing uncertainty and distress.

Desperate families are gathered at the border between Morocco and Ceuta, clinging to any scrap of information about their loved ones who disappeared during a massive migrant influx into the Spanish city. "I don't want anything, I just want my son back with me," cried one mother, echoing the anguish of many.

This scene of uncertainty unfolded days after an unprecedented surge of around 60,000 people crossed the border into Ceuta within a single 24-hour period. Spanish authorities reported that at least 67 individuals lost their lives during the perilous journey, primarily by drowning. Morocco has not released official figures on rescues, victims, or missing persons within its territory.

I don't want anything, I just want my son back with me.

— A motherExpressing her desperate hope for her son's return at the border with Ceuta.

Women stand by the border fence, scanning the horizon for any sign of their sons returning. Others sit by the roadside, their phones clutched in hand, awaiting a call from Ceuta that might break the agonizing silence. The air is thick with nervous conversations and the desperate questioning of migrants returning to Fnideq.

May God have mercy on him.

— A womanReacting to the news that her uncle's body was found after he attempted to swim to Ceuta.

One man received the devastating news that his uncle, who had attempted to swim to Ceuta despite his advanced age, had drowned. "May God have mercy on him," a woman said as she offered condolences, adding that they would now begin the process of repatriating the body for burial in Morocco. Nearby, Karima (a pseudonym) waits for any word of her husband, who she hasn't heard from since Thursday.

Another family traveled from a mountain village to search for their 21-year-old son, who had expressed a strong desire to emigrate to Spain after their home was destroyed in winter floods. "I don't want anything, only that my son returns to me," the mother said tearfully, explaining her failed attempts to dissuade him from leaving.

I don't want anything, only that my son returns to me.

— A motherTearfully describing her search for her son who went missing after attempting to cross into Ceuta.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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