Migrants in Spain's Ceuta Protest, Demand Asylum Over Deportation

Hundreds of migrants who recently arrived in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta staged a protest on a popular urban beach Sunday, demanding that Spanish authorities grant them asylum rather than return them to Morocco. These individuals were among an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 who remain in Ceuta following a mass border crossing two weeks ago. That event saw over 72,000 people surge into the small territory, which has a population of about 80,000.

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

With the city's resources already strained, most of the remaining migrants have been living in precarious conditions. They are sheltering on El Trampolin beach or on the city's outskirts while they await an opportunity to travel to continental Europe. "We're sleeping next to the sea, with cold and bad smells. We're suffering a lot," said Ayoub Elarroud from Tetouan, Morocco. He added that police were preventing migrants from entering the city center.

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We don’t want to go back to Morocco

The protesters held Spanish flags and banners with messages such as "We don't want to go back to Morocco" and "We are also human." They chanted slogans like "We're tired" and "We need a solution." In the background, on the rocky shores, some migrants were seen washing clothes, while others fished using makeshift bamboo rods, highlighting their difficult living situation.

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We ⁠are also human