The Spanish autonomous territory of Ceuta has turned parts of its port into a temporary migrant accommodation area after thousands of people crossed from Morocco into the enclave in late July and early August, overwhelming local capacity.
Spanish authorities have begun transferring some of the arrivals to temporary shelters, and the government has adopted emergency measures to cope with the pressure. Additional emergency response resources have been deployed to Ceuta, according to AP, as international organizations warned of a lack of shelter, food and sanitation in the first weeks after the mass crossing.
Tensions over port area
According to Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, the government has taken control of the port of Ceuta to use the land for temporary accommodation for migrants. The decision has also been accompanied by legal disputes, including attempts to block the construction of a camp for about 1,000 people in the port area, local press reports.
At the same time, the Spanish Interior Ministry announced the detention of two people in Ceuta on suspicion of exploiting vulnerable migrants through poor housing conditions, fees and threats. This has raised concerns that some of the arrivals remain vulnerable to abuse outside official centres.
British rescuers under pressure
Separate from the events in Ceuta, the British rescue organisation RNLI has reported increased harassment of its teams in connection with helping migrants arriving across the English Channel. According to information cited by the AP and British media, volunteers and rescuers have been the subject of online and physical attacks, as well as aggressive campaigns on social media.
The British government has already condemned the behaviour of anti-immigrant protesters at ports in southern England, where they tried to block migrants from disembarking and moving them to asylum processing centres. London has described the actions as unacceptable and warned that violators will be prosecuted under the law.
The two cases show different faces of the same tension on European migration routes: in Ceuta, authorities are seeking temporary solutions for accommodation, while in Britain, rescue workers who help migrants face increasing aggression and pressure.
Sources: AP, RTVE, Spanish Ministry of the Interior, Reuters, The Guardian