More than a hundred people from Ceuta gathered this Thursday to show their rejection of the implementation of a temporary reception resource for migrants in the port area, a location that the attendees have criticized, considering it to be the "umbilical cord of Ceuta."
The mobilization started at 7:30 PM and brought together more than a hundred people, many of them carrying flags of Spain and banners with slogans against the creation of this new facility near the port.
During the event, participants demanded "swift and effective returns now" and insisted that the material and human resources allocated for the reception of the thousands of migrants still in the city be directed towards strengthening triage services and processing asylum requests.
As they explained, their purpose is to accelerate procedures and facilitate returns to Morocco for those who do not meet the requirements to remain in Spanish territory.
This protest adds to those that have been recorded for weeks in different neighborhoods of the city against the opening of provisional reception resources.
Each time a possible new location is known, residents of the affected area mobilize to express their opposition to the measure, complicating the identification of spaces where the thousands of migrants who continue in Ceuta can be taken off the streets.
This context has led the governments of Spain and the Autonomous City to exercise extreme discretion regarding the new locations being evaluated or enabled to expand reception capacity.
Concentrations in front of the Nuestra Señora de África Nursery School
The concentration this Thursday at the port occurred, moreover, after several residents of Ceuta demonstrated in front of the Nuestra Señora de África Nursery School in the morning, just like on Wednesday.
At this point, tents for the provisional reception of migrants have started to be set up since this Thursday, a decision that has generated rejection from the parents of the children enrolled in the nursery.
The families have expressed their concern about the possibility of hundreds of migrants gathering in the vicinity of the educational center and have reiterated their request to the administrations to consider other alternatives to enable the necessary resources.