Join on WhatsApp 
Join on Telegram Denver- Spain’s central government is giving Ceuta a six-month deadline to repatriate hundreds of Moroccan minors currently residing in the city.
The central government’s delegate to Ceuta, Salvadora Mateos, emphasized that the repatriation efforts remain a sole priority for the administration. “These children must be with their families and in their country or assisted by an entity that protects them, as is being done in Ceuta, but in [their] country,” Mateos stated.
Officials in Ceuta announced the repatriation of the minors would begin with the arrival of added government personnel from the mainland. Spanish authorities ignored the same process last month, resulting in several NGO protests, including a Spanish judge’s temporary halt of what was considered to be illegal deportations of several minors.
Madrid plans to hire 15 personnel to assist in processing administrative paperwork related to the minors’ cases. Ceuta’s administration also plans on hiring “at least a dozen” social workers from the State Public Employment Service (SEPE). Finally, at least eight Darija translators will be hired to facilitate communication. In total, over 30 new personnel will be recruited for the massive operation.
It is unknown what the procedures will entail, and whether Ceuta will ensure the minors will return to a safe and positive environment. Officials assured that each minor would be assessed on a “case by case” basis, and “if the parents do not answer, there is an entity that is going to take charge of them.”
Minors are currently living in temporary modules at shelters in the city. The conditions have been described as overcrowded, and activist groups continue to criticize Spain’s response to the crisis.
At least 20 minors have, or will soon reach adulthood while in Ceuta and their situation in the city remains precarious. Activist group the Raices Foundation denounced Ceuta authorities for “the attempted expulsion, last week, of at least three young people who had just turned 18 and a minor.”
As resources continue to stretch thin, Spanish authorities are now on a deadline to ensure the safe and legal departure, as activist groups and individuals on both sides of the border continue to watch.
