On 31st July, Spain made an official announcement stating that it had to send back many migrants to the Spanish enclave in North America, while many others were sent back voluntarily after crossing the borders by land and sea.
It was also noted that many had met their ends due to the sudden crossing, where many bodies were discovered on the Spanish side of the border, who were assumed to have passed by drowning or by being crushed while trying to climb up the breakwater separating the border fence from the sea.
A gnarly sight for sure, and something no one could’ve ever predicted given how it all unfolded overnight.
But what exactly happened that made something like this even happen?
The Morocco-Spanish Border
There are two well-known cities known as Melilla and Ceuta. Located on the north coast of Africa, these cities have also formed the only external land border in Africa under the European Union. There were strict rules and regulations stating that no one could travel from either city to mainland Spain without having official identification from the National Police.
The location of these cities has especially made them a target for frequent migrant entries into Spain and, in turn, wider Europe, even though in some years the travel was via the routes of the Canary Islands rather than said cities.
The border had been established for a while, but it had been the site of many migrant-related incidents that happened over the course of many years due to many crossing the border to get to the other side.
For that reason, many incidents have occurred over the course of 5 years, the first being an incident occurring in May 2021, where over 8,000 people had entered Ceuta over the border in two days, which also included many minors as well. On June 24th 2022, approximately 2,000 migrants gathered in the early hours of the day to pass through the Melilla border, with around 23 of the migrants killed after the conflict with the Spanish and Moroccan forces, which caused a huge crowd rush.
Another incident in August 2024, when many tried to reach Ceuta by swimming around the breakwaters, as the fog that filled the area gave them the opportunity to take advantage of poor visibility.
So, even then, it was no surprise that the 2026 incident would occur as well, given the many incidents preceding its occurrence.
The 2026 crisis
On 31st July, there had been approximately 49,000 migrants who had entered Ceuta over the span of a few hours, with Juan Jesús Vivas giving an estimate of 60,000.
The Moroccan forces had to beat crowds using batons and tear gas at the gates to Ceuta, as many had rushed into the area, trying to prevent more from getting through. In turn, the rush had caused such an ordeal that it had caused rifts in Europe, with the leaders of neighbouring European states asking Spain to contain the incident.
Many were said to have been sleeping in parks or on sidewalks, while the rest were freely roaming the streets. Among the 18 who were reported dead, having drowned while crossing the border, some were also killed in the stampede to cross the breakwater fence of the Tarajal beach.
Ever since then, the death toll has climbed to 67, with the majority of the deaths having been caused by the stampede and drowning. Spain then announced that they were going to install a 500-meter-long containment barrier along the breakwater fence due to the entire ordeal.
The ones who had made it past the border and crossed to the other side were escorted back across by the soldiers who had come to the scene to control it.
Why did it happen?
There are many reasons as to why such incidents have been happening for many years, but there have been reasons that connect together.
The majority of the migrants who would cross the border were going to escape from their countries due to dissatisfaction with the country's politics, economics, public services, etc. Many migrants also wanted better opportunities due to the lack of jobs in the country, where many go unemployed.
Ahmed Karin, a 33-year-old Moroccan, has stated that many people want to go to Europe, America and many other countries, but they usually don’t have the opportunity to do so.
A lot of the migrants had hoped for a better life in Spain when crossing the border, only to be met with closed shops and stores, with no shelters in sight. Many hadn’t eaten since the night before, and were desperate to find any kind of shelter or food source in the area. Hence, many had turned back upon realising what the condition was.
A good few had even acknowledged that what they were doing was neither enjoyable nor good, and were quick to flee from the scene entirely, stating that they didn’t even know why they even came in the first place.
Closing Thoughts
Ever since the incident, security and border control have been stricter than ever. The security of the country had been extremely hurt as the situation unfolded that day. Ceuta’s president had stated that life in the city had been disrupted due to the border incident.
The lives lost that day, as well as the problems caused by the incident, will leave a terrible mark on the conditions of what the border stands for.
As we’ve seen in the past, these kinds of situations can happen again. People who are unhappy with their lives try to seek out something new. People’s unhappiness and dissatisfaction should be considered now before even more dire instances happen in the future.
References