Ikram, a 17-year-old Moroccan girl, expressed her return to the streets of Ceuta in a message to CBC on Monday. After enduring weeks of sleeping in various makeshift places, including a forest and an abandoned bathhouse, she found temporary shelter with a family for three days before running out of work opportunities.
In July, Ikram left Fnideq, Morocco, amidst a surge of around 80,000 Moroccans and migrants hoping to enter Ceuta for a chance at legal residency in Europe. Dissatisfied with the limited opportunities in Morocco, Ikram highlighted her family’s financial struggles, with her father working as a tailor but earning little.
While most migrants returned to Morocco shortly after the surge, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that around 5,000 remain in Ceuta. Among them are hundreds of unaccompanied minors, including Ikram, living in precarious conditions.
According to migration specialist Jennifer Zuppiroli, over 2,500 children and adolescents have been registered in Ceuta by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, with potentially more unaccounted for. Spain’s Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego, emphasized that many minors, some under 13 years old, are predominantly from Morocco, with a significant number of migrant girls among them.
Despite the challenging circumstances, Ikram remains determined to stay in Ceuta to secure a better future for herself and support her family financially. The situation in Ceuta has drawn attention to the plight of unaccompanied minors and families struggling to find stable housing, with reports of escalating tensions and violence towards migrants in the enclave.
Abdo, a 17-year-old migrant, shared his harrowing experience of being forced out of an abandoned hospital by Spanish soldiers, highlighting the risks and challenges faced by those seeking refuge in Ceuta. With dreams of a brighter future, Abdo, like many others, hopes to find a safe place to sleep and build a better life for himself.
