Migrants report that hunger and hostility compelled them to return from Spain’s Ceuta to Morocco.

Migrants who swam or jumped over fences to rush into Spain’s African enclave of Ceuta this week were returning home on Saturday, with many expressing that hunger, exhaustion, and hostility from locals had shattered their dreams of a new life in Europe.

Those returning shared with Reuters that they were initially attracted by viral social media videos and messages from friends indicating that the heavily guarded border might be crossed.

However, upon arriving in Ceuta, many reported that they discovered no means to proceed to mainland Spain.

We came to make progress, not to be deceived,” stated Brahim, a bakery worker from Fez who left his job and crossed the border after witnessing videos of thousands doing the same. I believed I could create a brighter future in that place. However, I found myself quite taken aback in Ceuta.

Brahim mentioned that he managed to survive for three days solely on water, as he could not afford the steep food prices on the Spanish side. Why was a tuna sandwich priced at 100 dirhams ($10.75)?

Ceuta resembled a prison.

In Fnideq, the Moroccan city facing Ceuta, Reuters observed nearly deserted streets leading to the border crossing, a striking difference from the thousands who had assembled there on Thursday.

Young men departed from the frontier along the highway or stood by, waiting for taxis to leave Fnideq, where shops had also been shuttered for days.

The returnees’ accounts featured numerous complaints about closed supermarkets and shops, forcing them to search for food and water while their wet clothes dried on the streets. “Ceuta felt like a prison—there was nothing to do there. “Everything was closed,” said a worker at Morocco’s Tanger Med port, who preferred to remain anonymous as he was expected back at work.

Some migrants have also alleged that residents of El Principe, a neighborhood in Ceuta primarily inhabited by Moroccans, have attacked or forced them to leave. Reuters was unable to confirm those accounts.

Moroccan waiter Yassine Ichou recounted his experience of being struck and pursued from El Principe. “They imposed a siege to compel us to depart Ceuta on our own… They achieved their objective,” he remarked, alluding to the extensive shop closures.

Spain’s Interior Ministry reported that two individuals suffered minor injuries from knife attacks in two distinct incidents, and police have apprehended one of the attackers. No deaths from knife attacks had been recorded in Ceuta since Thursday, it stated.

Rachid, an employee at a hotel in Fnideq close to the crossing, reported that all six members of the kitchen staff departed for Ceuta amid the peak of the influx and have not come back, prompting management to seek out replacements.

Compassion for young migrants

Across the border in Ceuta, cafes reopened and customers flocked in as the city gradually returned to life. Most shops remained closed, while patrol cars moved through the streets in a visible show of security. “We’ve taken the initiative to open because, ultimately, life has to return to its normal rhythm, but our safety and that of our staff always comes first,” said Marina Castaño, 24, whose parents own two cafes in the center.

Some residents reported that the situation in the outskirts remained tense.
An aid worker at a migrant reception center reported that it was at capacity and could not accommodate additional individuals, estimating that thousands were still present in the enclave.

Tito, a hardware store owner whose business remained closed, expressed that the unexpected influx of people had left the locals feeling both frightened and sympathetic. “You feel overwhelmed and, at the same time, helpless,” he remarked. Those young individuals are being entirely taken advantage of. They are being utilized as leverage.

Mohamed Ahmed, a 43-year-old man from Sudan, recounted how a truck left him and other migrants close to the border, after which he swam for four hours to arrive in Ceuta.

He stated that the police were preventing them from accessing the road to a migration centre, yet he remained resolute in his decision to stay in Spain.
I’m not returning. I’d prefer to give my all here, even if it costs me everything.