This comes amid a statement by the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesus Vivas (People’s Party), on Televisión Española, stating that there are still 6,000 migrants “wandering” in the city without necessary provisions.
At 11:15 in the morning, several Civil Guard agents appeared on the beach near the Tarajal border, leading a group of young Maghrebians along the sea. They were driven towards Morocco, surrounded by law enforcement, barely allowed to deviate from the set path. When the group reached the outskirts of “chiringuito Puerta de Europa” — the last Spanish bar before the border — the boys realized they were being returned. “No, no”, they pleaded. Being on the beach, a few meters from Morocco, and with the guards blocking their path from the sides, the migrants one by one found a gap between the agents and fled in the opposite direction. All but one managed to escape.
This young man remained motionless and submitted to the orders of the law enforcement. He begged not to be taken to the border, but in response received several shouts of “yalla, yalla” (which in Arabic means “let’s go, let’s go”). Eventually, resigned and accompanied by two guards, he walked the last meters of the beach to the Tarajal border crossing. This procedure had not been seen in recent days, and the publication EL MUNDO was a direct witness to it.
Change in strategy for returning migrants
Until now, especially on Monday, the search for migrants, their collection at various points on the beaches, and transportation by military trucks to the border was carried out by Legion servicemen. Then, the army assured that the people who boarded these vehicles were “volunteers”. However, some migrants begged not to be returned, cried, or tried to escape when they realized that the truck was heading to Morocco. Scenes where young Maghrebians and sub-Saharan Africans fled, and legionnaires chased them to regroup, repeated throughout the day.
The strategy seems to have changed. After only about a hundred minors were sent to Morocco on Tuesday, accompanied by National Police officers and workers from the SAMU Foundation, on Wednesday the Civil Guard led young Moroccans on foot to the border in small groups and without using the military trucks involved in the first days.
Discrepancies over the number of migrants in Ceuta
These events occurred amid continuing discrepancies among administrations over the number of people still remaining in Ceuta. Vivas estimated the number of those “wandering” the autonomous city at approximately 6,000, while the central government cites a figure between 2,000 and 3,000.
The president of Ceuta stated that the city seemed “frozen” after the massive influx of migrants last week. Although he acknowledged that the tension had subsided after the return of a significant portion of the newcomers, Vivas insisted that Ceuta continues to be “overcrowded”.
According to Vivas‘ calculations, about 80,000 people arrived in the autonomous city during the influx, which is 8,000 more than recorded by the Ministry of the Interior. The president claims that about 73,000 have already returned to Morocco, while the central government estimates the number of arrivals at 72,000 and states that approximately 70,000 have returned.
The president of the autonomous city again criticized the executive branch for a response he described as “late and insufficient” and warned that there is still a “high risk to public order and citizen security”. He also criticized the fact that, several days after the massive influx, the authorities still do not know exactly how many migrants remain on the streets of Ceuta. “How is it possible that we still do not have an exact count of those remaining in Ceuta? How is it possible that not all have been identified? How is it possible that deportation procedures have not yet begun?” he asked during his television appearance.
Source: El Mundo
