Agadir – Thousands of migrants who crossed into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta this week are returning to Morocco, with many recounting experiencing hunger, exhaustion, and a host of other tribulations that crushed their hopes of reaching Europe.
The migrants, many of whom reportedly entered the Spanish enclave by swimming around the border fence or climbing over barriers separating Morocco from Ceuta, said they were encouraged to cross the border.
But after arriving in the Spanish territory, several said they found themselves unable to move further toward mainland Spain and struggled to access basic necessities.
‘I thought I’d build a better future there’
“We came to make progress, not to be fooled,” Brahim, a bakery worker from Fez who left his job before attempting the crossing, told Reuters. He said he decided to try after watching videos showing large numbers of people making their way into Ceuta.
“I thought I’d build a better future there. But I was surprised in Ceuta,” he added.
Brahim said he spent three days surviving only on water because he could not afford food prices in the enclave. “How come a tuna sandwich was being sold for 100 dirhams ($10.75)?” he asked.
Several returnees described finding closed supermarkets and businesses in Ceuta, leaving them searching for food and water while waiting for their clothes to dry after crossing the border.
“Ceuta was like a prison, nothing to do there. Everything was closed,” a worker at Morocco’s Tanger Med port told Reuters.
Some migrants also alleged that residents in El Principe, a predominantly Moroccan neighborhood in Ceuta, had attacked or forced them to leave. Reuters said it could not independently verify those claims.
Moroccan waiter Yassine Ichou said he was beaten and chased away from the neighborhood.
“They imposed a siege to force us to leave Ceuta by ourselves … They succeeded in their plan,” he told Reuters, referring to the widespread closure of shops and businesses.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said two people suffered minor injuries in separate knife attacks and that police had arrested one suspect. Authorities added that no deaths from knife attacks had been recorded in Ceuta since Thursday.
