In Ceuta, events: the humanitarian crisis in the exclave can no longer be contained
Scabies, tuberculosis and outbreaks of gastroenteritis — the migration crisis in Ceuta is escalating into a protracted humanitarian collapse. About 5,000 migrants still remain on Trampoline Beach: an improvised camp made of cardboard and branches has been there for more than two weeks. The city authorities have given Madrid 30 days to determine the status of the migrants, otherwise they threaten to go to court. Why Spain and the EU are unable to resolve the situation and how the situation is developing in Ceuta — in the Izvestia report.
Migration crisis
On Trampoline Beach, instead of bathers, there are huts made of reeds, twigs, cardboard and everything that could be found nearby. Right on the sand, where residents of Ceuta usually rest, there are homemade signs saying "We don't want to go to Morocco" and "We are people too"; some people are holding Spanish flags in their hands. It is estimated that up to 5,000 people remain here, mostly Moroccans. The camp on the beach has been standing for more than two weeks. Since August 16, some of the refugees have been on hunger strike, demanding the right to asylum from the Spanish authorities.
Ceuta is a small Spanish exclave in northern Africa, which is separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar. For thousands of Africans, this is the closest point in the EU, which can be reached by water in just a few hours. Because of this, the local Trampoline beach has long become the main gateway for illegal migration to Europe. People sail from neighboring Morocco on makeshift boats and disembark right among the vacationers. Clashes with the police and shouts of ¡Asilo! ("Shelter!") have already become a familiar sight here.
About a dozen women set up a separate camp right next to the police van to stay close to the guards. "Every night, guys try to attack girls, sometimes even when you go to the bathroom," says 28—year—old Moroccan Wafae Atid. The police union has counted 15 cases of sexual violence in Ceuta since July 30, with most of the victims being minors.
Volunteers and non-profit organizations took over all household care on the beach. 10 toilets and 30 showers have been equipped for the refugees. In the afternoon, the Red Cross arrives here with food and medicines, and doctors are also on duty here. The German NGO Mission Lifeline International has set up a separate tent where phones can be charged: employees register gadget numbers, link them to their owners, and later return them charged.
As Annika, an employee of the organization, told Izvestia, electricity and mobile communications are vital for migrants. Without the opportunity to contact their family, people experience tremendous stress. At the same time, the state, according to her, practically does not help. Her colleague Madison adds: in two weeks of work, the situation on the beach has not changed for the better, and the sanitary situation is only getting worse.
Cases of scabies, tuberculosis and gastroenteritis have already been recorded in the camp, and even military personnel sent to help have contracted scabies. The head of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University Hospital of Ceuta, Julian Dominguez, in an interview with Izvestia, noted that the sanitary and epidemiological crisis in the city has not yet begun, but the humanitarian catastrophe is already obvious, and it may well provoke it.
Emergency departments are operating at their maximum capacity, and if the situation does not change, the resources of the healthcare system will quickly be exhausted. Half of the hospital's beds are currently occupied, and emergency plans are fully operational. According to the doctor, first of all, migrants need to be provided with normal living conditions: running water, wastewater control, sanitary cleaning of the territory, basic nutrition and infection prevention.
"We sleep right by the water, it's cold and there's a fetid smell. We are suffering a lot," says Moroccan Ayoub El-Arroud.
However, the problem cannot be solved quickly. The medical personnel reserve in Ceuta has been exhausted, and new specialists do not want to go to the city due to its remoteness and lack of incentives from local authorities.
On August 17, the head of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, representing the Spanish People's Party, gave Madrid 30 days to begin deporting migrants and unloading the city. If the central authorities do not respond, the leadership of the exclave will challenge their inaction in court — they promise to go all the way to the Supreme and Constitutional Courts. Vivas accuses Pedro Sanchez's government of "almost absolute passivity." In addition to lawsuits, he intends to seek support from Parliament, regional administrations, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and European institutions. At the same time, in Ceuta itself, they announced the creation of 1.5 thousand temporary places in modular blocks, which will be located in several districts of the city. However, it is obvious that even this housing will not be enough for all the refugees.
Why Spain and the EU can't solve the problem
Vadim Trukhachev, associate Professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, recalls that the current crisis is largely provoked by the policies of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez himself. In April 2026 His cabinet carried out a large-scale legalization, which could include up to 500,000 illegally entered foreigners, and at the same time complicated the deportation procedure. Rumors of Madrid's generosity quickly spread to Afghanistan and Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the expert, it is now almost impossible to stop the flow of those who travel to Europe for benefits.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
The European Union itself agrees with this assessment. In early August, 22 of the 27 EU leaders explicitly stated in a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that mass recognition of the rights of illegal immigrants was becoming a powerful magnet for new waves of migration.
Even if Madrid has enough political will to resolve the situation in Ceuta, the pan-European migration crisis will not disappear, Vadim Trukhachev notes. The new EU pact, which came into force in June, accelerates the screening of arrivals at the borders and the deportation of those who have been denied asylum. However, he does not eliminate the root cause of the influx of refugees: "Not in Ceuta, but in Lampedusa, not in Lampedusa, but in Lesbos."
Among the major European countries, only Austria and Denmark have a systematic migration policy. Strict laws apply in Italy, while there are practically no refugees in Portugal. In other countries, migrant ghettos have already formed in large cities, and Brussels still does not understand how to solve this problem. Do not forget about the family reunification factor. A significant part of foreigners go to relatives, and in their culture even a second cousin is considered a close person. It is almost impossible to stop this flow with administrative bans alone: the diaspora immediately provides the newcomers with housing, food and informal work, and eventually helps them to legalize.
In addition, Madrid itself does not have enough practical tools to solve this problem, Egor Sergeev, senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, notes in a comment to Izvestia. When 60-70 thousand people broke into the exclave in just two days on July 30 and 31, the usual control mechanisms simply failed. The authorities are faced with spontaneous, disparate groups, while some of the players — from NGOs to semi—legal communities - are not under Madrid's control at all. Due to the chronic shortage of money and organizational resources, any emergency measures, such as the hasty construction of temporary shelters, only temporarily relieve the severity, but do not solve the problem in essence.
Thus, it is not so important whether the crisis in Ceuta is resolved now. While Europe is only busy extinguishing local migration fires, the systemic problem remains unresolved. This means that new outbreaks in other regions will inevitably follow.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
