Moroccan Mother Travels to Ceuta to Bring Food and Clean Clothes to Son Sleeping in Garage
In Ceuta, a young man pays 200 euros a month to sleep in a garage. His mother made the trip from Morocco to bring him provisions and take care of his laundry. The Spanish press has reported on this scene of family solidarity.
He has been sleeping in a garage since crossing the border into Ceuta. To see her son, his mother came all the way from Morocco. She picked him up in the morning, bought him something to eat, then accompanied him to a laundromat with two large bags. Spanish daily El País recounts their meeting in a report published this Sunday, October 11.
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At the laundromat, the mother takes charge. She steers her son away from the machines, handles the clothes and scolds him when she spots a grease stain on a T-shirt. The young man lets her get on with it. The two exchange affectionate gestures as other customers look on.
The cost of his accommodation—200 euros a month for a place in a garage—illustrates the difficulties faced by migrants who remain in Ceuta. Some pay to sleep in makeshift premises. In early October, a court case had already revealed that migrants were being charged for accommodation.
A laundromat where police and migrants meet
The business the mother and son visit has had an unusual clientele since the mass arrivals of migrants in late July. Spanish police officers sent in as reinforcements cross paths there with people sleeping on the streets or on beaches. They all come for the same reason: to wash their belongings.
Ahmed, who spends his nights on Trampolín beach, brings almost everything he owns, including his blanket and pillow. When it is time to pay, he is one euro short. Another migrant gives him the coin he needs. A young police officer was also about to help him.
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The owner of the laundromat knows the two languages spoken by his customers well. Born in Fès and living in Ceuta since childhood, he speaks both Darija and Spanish. Among other things, he steps in to remind customers that shoes must not be put in dryers—a rule broken by both police officers and migrants.
Amid these encounters, the shopkeeper makes a remark quoted by El País: “Hunger doesn’t cross borders.” The words resonate particularly strongly alongside the visit of this mother from Morocco, arms laden with food for her son.
