Spanish-Moroccan Children Stranded as Ceuta Denies School Entry Amid Border Dispute

"We’re not asking for anything, we’re not asking for papers, just a pass so our children can go to school in Ceuta." This is the heartfelt cry of these Moroccan mothers who are desperately hoping that their Spanish children, stranded in Morocco since the closure of borders for the Covid-19 health crisis, can return to school.

These Moroccan women, some of whom are widows and others divorced, have made several trips to the Spanish consulate in Tetouan and have also approached the Ceuta administration so that their Spanish children can return to school. Without success. "These are Spanish children, their parents are Spanish," they assure El Faro de Ceuta.

According to these parents, their children who have Spanish nationality should be admitted to the Spanish school in Tetouan. But they were told that there were no places and that they would have to pay. "We, the mothers, have a green passport, but our children have a red one. They tell us that we have no solutions and no rights," they denounce.

Mostly domestic workers in Ceuta, these women have lost their jobs due to the closure of borders. "We have knocked on all the doors in Morocco, but they say that the solution to our problem is in Ceuta... The border is open and the government says it can do nothing. We are asking to save the future of the children," they plead.