Ceuta Refuge Volunteer Enters Spain’s Senate Race

He prepared meals at a facility serving people with disabilities. On November 29, his name will appear on the ballot in Ceuta. Abdellah Mustafa, 26, is running as an independent candidate for the Spanish Senate with the left-wing coalition Senado de Progreso, El País reported on Tuesday, October 27.

Ceuta is his whole story. Born and raised in Sidi Embarek, on the outskirts of the city, this Spaniard of Moroccan origin has chaired the neighborhood association since 2022. The fifth of eight children, he grew up with his mother, Karima. Before the summer, he had even worked for a few months as a street cleaner.

In late July, mass arrivals from Morocco upended the city. Women and children were left without shelter. With his mother, sisters, neighbors and several associations, Abdellah turned a sports field into an improvised shelter. When space ran out, volunteers set up tents near the Sidi Embarek mosque.

A camp for 900 people before the polls

Over two months, between 800 and 900 women and children passed through the shelter, according to an RTVE report. Associations and volunteers distributed meals, clothing and hygiene products. His mother coordinated some of the shelter’s operations. A three-year-old Moroccan child had slept there on a blanket spread directly on the ground.

After the last people were transferred to an official facility in early October, Abdellah took a few days off. He had turned down several political offers. This time, he agreed to run, while retaining his independent status.

He hopes to bring the problems of housing, poverty and unemployment in Ceuta’s outlying neighborhoods to the Senate. His own experience informs his campaign: unable to find affordable housing in Sidi Embarek, he now rents a home in El Príncipe with his wife.