Around 500 people have taken to the streets this Sunday in Ceuta to protest against the Government's actions in the face of the migration crisis that the autonomous city has been experiencing since July 30 and to demand "real measures, solutions, and expulsion," as well as to call for the guarantee of the safety and rights of Ceuta's minors ahead of the imminent start of the school year.
The attendees, many of them carrying flags of Spain and Ceuta and grouped under the slogans "we demand solutions and expulsion" and "for the children of Ceuta," have demanded the resignation of the Government delegate, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, and have called for increased security in educational centers so that students can return to classrooms this week. During the concentration, chants such as "invaders, expulsion" or "Delegate resignation" were heard, along with others like "our children want freedom."
The mobilization began around 12:00 hours in front of the Government Delegation, in the Plaza de los Reyes, with the Spanish anthem and chants like "Ceuta is not for sale." Following this, two manifestos were read by the organizers, the Citizen Forum for Aid to Ceuta and Melilla and several associations and confederations of parents and guardians of students.
THEY DEMAND "THAT THE EXCEPTIONAL DOES NOT BECOME THE USUAL"
In the first of the texts, Noelia Alcázar, a Ceuta mother of two children, has asked "that the exceptional does not become the usual," referring to extraordinary measures such as the presence of the Armed Forces in schools or the organization of school routes escorted by the State Security Forces and Corps.
The manifesto emphasizes that minors "did not cause this crisis, did not decide how it should be managed, and are not responsible but are suffering its consequences" and reminds that Ceuta's children "deserve to grow up in peace, with safety, in healthy environments, and with the same opportunities as the rest of the citizens. Their protection, their rights, and their well-being must be a priority for all administrations."
The second manifesto has been read by Rocío Hernández, who has demanded a more intense involvement, both physical and institutional, of the European Union in Ceuta, while those present chanted "Europe, listen, Ceuta is your struggle." This document also demands "responsibility, coordination, effectiveness, and urgency" from European institutions, the central government, and the Ceuta authorities to recover "as soon as possible" normality.
After the reading of the manifestos, the participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the deceased during the mass entry, turning their backs to the facade of the Government Delegation.
Subsequently, the march continued to the border crossing of El Tarajal, at the border of Ceuta with Morocco, in a walk without incidents in which the cry of "invaders, expulsion" was heard again. Once at El Tarajal, the attendees held a peaceful sit-in and the manifesto was read again.