Madrid. Hundreds of migrants who recently entered Ceuta, Spain's North African region, demonstrated on a popular beach in the city on Sunday. He said that instead of sending him back to Morocco, he should be given asylum from Spain. They are among the 5,000 to 8,000 migrants still stuck in Ceuta after a large-scale border crossing incident two weeks ago.
In that incident, more than 72,000 people had reached this small area with a population of about 80,000. In the days that followed, most people returned of their own free will.
Came from Morocco and waiting to go to Europe
Due to increasing pressure on the city's resources, most migrants are living in poor conditions on El Trampoline beach or on the outskirts of the city. They are waiting for the opportunity to move forward to continental Europe.
“We are sleeping near the sea. It is cold and there is a smell. We are very upset,” said Ayoub Allarud, a resident of Tetouan, Morocco. He also said that the police were stopping the migrants from going to the central part of the city.
Morocco does not want us, we are also humans… protesters waved banners
The protesting people had flags of Spain in their hands. It was written on the banners that they did not want to go back to Morocco and that they were also human beings. They were shouting slogans that they were tired and needed a solution. Behind them, on the rocky shore, some migrants were washing clothes, while others were fishing with makeshift sticks made of bamboo.
People who entered forcibly will not get legal status
Earlier this week, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlasca said that migrants who entered illegally would not be allowed to live in the area, visit mainland Spain or obtain legal status. He had said that exceptions could be made only in rare cases involving extremely unsafe conditions. At present, the migrants stranded in Ceuta are demanding asylum instead of return, while the stance of the Spanish government remains strict.