![\"world\"](\"https:\/\/images.firstpost.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/fp\/revamp_v1\/earth.svg\")
More from World<\/p>\nHundreds of migrants stranded in Spain\u2019s North African enclave of Ceuta protested on a city beach, demanding asylum as authorities say most who entered irregularly will be returned to Morocco. <\/p>\n
Hundreds of migrants stranded in Spain\u2019s North African enclave of Ceuta took to a popular beach on Sunday, calling on authorities to grant them asylum and allow them to remain in Spain rather than return them to Morocco.<\/p>\n
The protesters are among thousands who remain in the territory after a mass border crossing two weeks ago. More than 72,000 people entered Ceuta during the surge, although most subsequently returned voluntarily. Estimates suggest between 5,000 and 8,000 migrants are still in the enclave.<\/p>\n
With local facilities under severe pressure, many of those remaining have been sleeping in makeshift conditions around El Trampolin beach and on the outskirts of the city while waiting for an opportunity to reach mainland Europe.<\/p>\n
Carrying Spanish flags and placards reading \u201cWe don\u2019t want to go back to Morocco\u201d and \u201cWe are also human\u201d, protesters chanted for authorities to find a solution. Some migrants washed clothes along the shoreline, while others attempted to fish using makeshift equipment.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said migrants who had entered irregularly would not be allowed to stay in the enclave, travel to mainland Spain or obtain legal status, except in rare cases involving extreme vulnerability.<\/p>\n
More from World<\/p>\n
The head of Ceuta\u2019s medical board, Enrique Roviralta, told Onda Cero radio that the city\u2019s limited healthcare workers were exhausted and criticised what he described as a slow response by the central government.<\/p>\n
Roviralta added that diseases such as infectious diarrhoea and scabies were breaking out, and violence-related injuries such as broken noses or stab wounds were rising.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Health Minister Monica Garcia rejected suggestions that local health services had \u201dcollapsed\u201d, but acknowledged they were under pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201dTo associate migration with illness is unjust and xenophobic,\u201d she told reporters in Ceuta, adding there was a moderate risk of epidemic outbreaks for migrants and a low one for residents.<\/p>\n
Most of the Moroccan migrants interviewed by Reuters said they were driven by poor working conditions in their country, despite many holding higher qualifications.<\/p>\n
Mohammed Ouanzar, a 39-year-old automation specialist from Fez, said average monthly salaries of 3,000 dirham ($324) made it impossible for him to buy a home or start a family.<\/p>\n
\u201dOnce I reached Spanish soil, I felt like I was born again,\u201d he said. \u201dI\u2019d rather die than return.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hicham Chikir, 25, said most people were eager to work in Europe. \u201dIf anyone is bad, the police can send them back,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Emmanuel, a 30-year-old electrician who fled conflict-ridden northeastern Nigeria, said he decided to embark on a perilous four-month journey across Niger, Algeria and Morocco because his children had stopped going to school over fears of being kidnapped.<\/p>\n
\u201dI\u2019m fighting for a better life for them,\u201d he said, adding that he would take any job he was offered.<\/p>\n
Mohammad Ismail Hossain, 34, left Bangladesh over two years ago following the 2024 mass uprising. He traversed India, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Libya and Algeria \u2013 mostly on foot \u2013 and saw many companions die of thirst in the desert.<\/p>\n
Ousmane from southern Senegal said he was seeking asylum because he suffered persecution over his sexual orientation but had yet to obtain a reply from the local NGOs he had contacted.<\/p>\n
\u201dThe worst thing is waiting all day with nothing to do, checking my emails constantly\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With inputs from agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of migrants stranded in Spain\u2019s North African enclave of Ceuta protested on a city beach, demanding asylum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[27809,27804,27790,27793,26029,27801,25618,25678,27794,10832,27797,27798,27808,27802,27803,27792,27789,27791,27806,27805,25639,27807,27795,17,27787,27796,27800,26004,25950,25626,27799],"class_list":["post-71278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-african-migration-to-europe","tag-asylum-seekers-europe","tag-ceuta-asylum-seekers","tag-ceuta-beach-protest","tag-ceuta-border-crossing","tag-ceuta-healthcare-crisis","tag-ceuta-migrant-crisis","tag-ceuta-migrants","tag-el-trampolin-beach","tag-fernando-grande-marlaska","tag-illegal-migration-spain","tag-irregular-migrants-spain","tag-mainland-spain-migrants","tag-migrant-health-ceuta","tag-migrant-shelters-spain","tag-migrants-demand-asylum","tag-migrants-in-ceuta","tag-migrants-protest-spain","tag-migrants-stranded-in-ceuta","tag-migration-crisis-europe","tag-morocco-migrants","tag-morocco-spain-migration","tag-north-africa-migration","tag-spain","tag-spain-asylum","tag-spain-immigration-crisis","tag-spain-interior-ministry","tag-spain-migrant-crisis","tag-spain-migration","tag-spain-morocco-border","tag-spanish-immigration-policy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}