Ceuta, Spain – For more than a month, 21-year-old Anis Fadi, a university graduate and qualified accountant, has been sleeping in a makeshift shelter. At the end of July, he crossed the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on the North African coast, along with about 70,000 others. At his migrant camp on Trampolin Beach, he queues for hours each day for food at a Red Cross centre.
The Spanish government estimates that between 6,000 and 10,000 who made the crossing remain stranded. Officials in Ceuta believe the figure is closer to 13,000 people. About 5,000 – mostly women and children – have been given temporary accommodation by the authorities.
Fadi said, as he waits for food in the heat, police officers with batons shout orders at the crowds. I didn’t see any future for myself.” More than 100 people died in the crossing. Fadi said he swam for hours to reach Ceuta, believing it was a gateway to Europe, where he imagines a better life awaits.
He believes men like him who “have the skills … don’t have the chance”. In Spain, protests have erupted against the government’s handling of the crisis. Ceuta is usually home to about 84,000 people.
Its population almost doubled at the outset of this crisis. Though most have returned, the enclave has been struggling to cope with the pressure of hosting those who remain. After a new temporary shelter opened up recently, offering space for about 1,700 people, it hit capacity within hours.
As humanitarian groups struggle to provide basic needs, Nolte Bauer, from Mission Lifeline International, said migrants also feel unsafe. Several people interviewed by Al Jazeera said they had been abused by men in military or police uniforms. Some were wounded, with cuts to the head or bruising around the body.
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