Residents and dock workers in Ceuta formed a human chain on Tuesday evening to protest a new migrant shelter the Spanish central government is preparing near the west pier of the Port of Ceuta.
The government has spent recent days setting up the facility, one of several temporary shelters opened in the weeks since late July, when large numbers of migrants entered the exclave. According to Spanish outlets, the new center is intended to house around 1,000 people, drawn mainly from migrants still living in shanty tents on Benitéz and Trampolín beaches.
El Faro de Ceuta reported that the transfer of migrants to the site appears imminent, noting that tents there are already largely set up.
Protesters gathered Tuesday chanted slogans that have circulated across Spain since the migrant arrivals began, including “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta is defended” and “Ceuta, united, will never be defeated.”
One protester, identified by El Faro de Ceuta as Miguel Ángel Oncina, said residents are increasingly frustrated with the situation and criticized what he called “the entire government with all its little cronies.”
Oncina said the shelter breaches existing port laws and regulations and poses a security risk, citing its proximity to three fuel deposits at the port as well as to a school and a transport ship, both within about 50 meters of the site.
“We are citizens of Ceuta, we’ve lived here our whole lives. We are hardworking people, we pay our taxes, we’ve done our military service; we have children; we have grandchildren; we are autonomous, and what we want is the freedom we used to have — which we’re losing, losing it completely,” Oncina said.
He also said residents are wary of walking the streets, citing fears of theft and assault, and said mistreatment of elderly residents, women and children “shouldn’t be allowed in a country that’s supposed to be democratic.” He added that demonstrations will continue “every time we can.”
An unidentified woman who works in the area and took part in the protest told El Faro de Ceuta she and her colleagues are concerned for their safety.
“This is a danger to all of us because we have to go around with pepper spray in hand,” she said. “We are afraid, and cannot take it anymore.”
Tuesday’s demonstration is the latest in a series of peaceful protests by Ceuta residents opposing the continued presence of migrants who remain in the city and calling for solutions to conditions there since the influx began.
