Ceuta Grapples with Influx of 500 Unaccompanied Moroccan Minors

While the Spanish police have taken a series of measures to recover the children from the streets, especially those trying to board boats or cars bound for Europe, many of them are hiding in the breakwaters of the port of Ceuta, reports EFE. In addition, these unaccompanied Moroccan minors, aged 12 to 17, violate the rules imposed by the reception centers.

However, the authorities have managed to place 115 Moroccan minors in a sports center run by the Spanish Red Cross in Santa Amelia. The Spanish army has set up tents that serve as housing for these minors. The authorities have also transferred 430 children to a reception center in La Esperanza.

Faced with the overcrowding of the reception center in La Esperanza, the government of the Spanish enclave has set up a temporary shelter using ready-to-deploy tents. This shelter has already welcomed 180 minors on Wednesday, April 22.

In this context of covid-19, the minor migrants of Ceuta have been distributed between three reception structures: 200 in the La Esperanza reception center, 250 in a temporary shelter, and 115 within a covered sports center.

For his part, the President of the City of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Viva, has called on the central government in Madrid to attach importance to the situation of these minors. According to him, 75% of the social assistance allocated by the Spanish state has been used to solve problems related to immigration.

Video of the arrival of Moroccan minors in a new temporary reception center.