Crisis in Ceuta: Spain put a “barrier” in the sea to prevent more Moroccans from crossing

The measure was implemented whilesome lukewarm attempts to cross to the Spanish side continue and expulsions intensify. This Saturday, a handful of exhausted migrants who swam to the urban beach of Tarajal on Saturday morning were greeted by soldiers who escorted them back across the border.

The Spanish military did not hesitate to push those who walked too slowly. On Friday night, the Government assured that “practically all” of the migrants arriving in recent days had already returned to Morocco, about 48,000.

The installation of the water barrier began around 7:50 in the morning (3:50 in Argentina). The main element of the protection structure is a 500-meter-long pneumatic barrier, with a surface height of 30 to 70 centimeters and a submerged part up to one meter deep, according to the newspaper El Mundo.

After days of chaos and streets crowded with people hoping to find a better life in Spain, the people of Ceuta woke up on Saturday to a disturbing calm. Even so, security for residents of the autonomous city of 84,000 inhabitants remained diminished.

“Life in this city has been altered as a result of the border incident,” said the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas. “The return of people has begun satisfactorily, but the process must be completed,” he added. “The city is not yet back to normal.”

In the Moroccan city of Tangier, about 75 kilometers west of Ceuta, the main train station wasfilled with people returning from Ceuta or the border. Some slept on the ground, exhausted, while passers-by watched from a distance.

“I tried to cross, but I failed. I stayed near the border with Ceuta for two days, but I couldn’t find anything to eat,” said Abdalah, who asked that his last name not be published for fear of reprisals for trying to cross illegally.

On the road to the Moroccan town of Fnideq, which borders Ceuta, many migrants were seen walking towards the fence, some barefoot, apparently hoping to try their luck. Taxi drivers and bus drivers were refusing to take them, fearing the possible response from the authorities.

Police officers were deployed along the road, They stopped and searched every vehicle heading towards Fnideq. However, some of those who managed to reach Ceuta were determined to stay, like Mohamed Hatri, a 23-year-old Moroccan.

“They have closed everything so that we cannot buy anything to eat, to force us to return to our country,” he said. “But even if they close (…) we are determined to stay here, whether we are hungry or not,” he added.

“A friend called me and told me that the border is open,” said Soufian, a 42-year-old Moroccan quoted by the AFP agency who swam into Ceuta. He had a bruise on one eye and a cut on his cheek that, he said, he got when other migrants attacked him during a food distribution.

“Invasion? No. That’s a lie. All the people (in Morocco) want to move up, they want a good future, which there is none in Morocco. Right now I was working as a security guard, 12 hours. And how much do they pay me a day? 10 euros,” explains.