Mid-August in Ceuta and the absence of two key female ministers

Lisbon. Efforts are underway around Ceuta to prevent a new wave of mass arrivals, which, according to rumours circulating on various social media platforms, was reportedly scheduled for mid-August. The Moroccan authorities have laid barbed wire on the ground, whilst the Spanish authorities have erected an inflatable barrier in the water. This will serve to justify the ‘en caliente’ – or on-the-spot – deportation of anyone who manages to reach the coast by swimming. It was precisely the absence of that floating barrier that had prompted the recent ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court prohibiting immediate pushbacks for those reaching the city by sea. “We would make fools of ourselves in the eyes of the world if we allowed a new invasion,” says an anonymous source quoted by the newspaper El Mundo.

In Ceuta, however, efforts are under way to deal with the July crisis as best as possible, with the pessimistic realisation that it may not be the last, but at least the hope that the next one will not come so soon. The emergency is not over. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 5,000 migrants remain in the city; local authorities put the figure at 9,000. As reported in the local press, it has not been possible to begin identification procedures because there is a lack not only of resources but even of the physical space required to carry out the necessary formalities. Plans are being considered to use the football pitch or the large sorting area at Loma Colmenar, designed to manage the flow of vehicles facing long waits to cross the border with Morocco (the customs posts at Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco opens and closes for questionable reasons, are among the most sensitive issues dividing the two countries). And Morocco is adding insult to injury: the Ministry of the Interior accuses Madrid of bureaucratic delays in returning the minors, whilst the National Human Rights Council (which reports to the government in Rabat) accuses the Spanish police of mistreating migrants. Meanwhile, the pro-establishment press – such as the newspaper Le 360, which, at the height of the crisis two weeks ago, published articles asserting Moroccan sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla – is now publishing satirical cartoons depicting the Civil Guard keeping people in cages described as ‘waiting rooms’.

In a city where migratory pressure is typically high, the temporary reception centre is at full capacity and there are plans to build a hotspot in the surrounding area. Other emergency camps have sprung up in the meantime, and more will need to be built. Where they already exist, residents are protesting. Where there are plans to build them, residents are protesting. A case in point is the makeshift camp in the La Reina neighbourhood, which can no longer cope. This is what the neighbourhood representative told the local media – not an elderly man named José López, but the young Abdellah Mustafa. They have mainly taken in young women, many of whom have a history of violence. There are now plans to move them to a disused factory, but the new neighbours do not seem particularly pleased. Healthcare facilities are also under pressure. The Medical Association and the sector’s trade unions have already warned of the risk of infectious diseases breaking out due to overcrowding and poor hygiene.

Comisiones Obreras, Spain’s historic and largest trade union, which describes itself as ‘internationalist, multi-ethnic and multicultural’, feels the need to emphasise this in its statement: ‘This risk does not stem from people’s nationality, but from their material living conditions, such as the lack of adequate housing and sanitation facilities’. In short, no ideological bias, but real problems. Problems in the face of which the absence of two key ministers is glaringly obvious. Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta before going on holiday. Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Minister of the Interior, visited and was met with boos. Margarita Robles (Defence) visited, showing and finding more empathy (her conversation with the elderly woman who was crying and saying she was afraid went viral). But after two weeks, Ministers Elma Saiz and Mónica García have still not been seen. The former, as well as being the government’s spokesperson, heads the Ministry for Inclusion and Migration and has only just announced that she will be in Ceuta next Monday. The other – who entered government via grassroots activism, first with Podemos and then with Sumar – is the Minister for Health. She has denied there is a health emergency, but says she too will soon be travelling to Ceuta. In short, the matter will be discussed after mid-August.