Police and authorities in Spain are overwhelmed after thousands of young Moroccans swam across the border to reach the Spanish city of Ceuta, located on the western coast of Africa. Ceuta and Melilla are the autonomous Spanish cities in North Africa and sit at the edge of the Strait of Gibraltar.
State security forces in Ceuta, a city with just 80,000 inhabitants, are struggling to deal with the massive number of migrants who landed on the shores.
Eduardo García, provincial secretary of the Ceuta police confederation, said that they had no clear figure of how many have entered the country within just 9 hours on Thursday.
About 18 were reported to have drowned after they attempted to swim around the Tarajal breakwater in the ordeal. A majority of the migrants were young men. There were only a couple of women among those who swam across.
In July, Spain’s government ruled that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot be returned to Morocco.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has now deployed the army in Ceuta after an estimated 20,000 migrants entered the country on Friday.
According to a report by El Español, TikTok and Instagram videos have boosted Moroccan youths' desire to reach Spain.
Accounts romanticising the feat of crossing the sea to reach Ceuta reportedly played a factor in encouraging the youth to make the risky crossing. One such account is @haragaa_ceuta1.
The videos posted by such accounts are also deleted quickly because it encourages the emigration. The creators often delete their accounts to start new ones every so often.
According to the report in El Español, the videos' descriptions say that they “do not encourage emigration”. However, their contents showcase “success stories” of those who have made the swim and how their lives were changed after they reached Spain.
The distance between the Castillejos and Ceuta is just 10 kilometres. The journey, however, is made dangerous by physical exertion, currents and tides and the heat. The accounts encourage the migrants to travel in groups of at least seven people.
One video says, “Experts look for wetsuits, fins, and a mask to swim that stretch." "For those who don't know how to swim, are minors and want to get out, we recommend doing so with floats."
One person who made the journey said in a clip, "Those who are going to emigrate like this should also know that you shouldn't carry a backpack. You leave everything you had behind." The clips receive thousands of views and comments.
The thousands who arrived in Ceuta on Friday also arrived with very little. They had the clothes they wore, water bottles and little in their bags.
Police officials have said that at least 20 people have been crossing the border daily using the method.
Juan Jesús Vivas, the leader of Ceuta, said that the influx of migrants has overwhelmed resources.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has now called for suspending Spain from the Schengen agreement for letting the mass immigration take place.
She said that "uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe's borders".
The Schengen Area is a system of open borders spanning 29 European countries that have officially abolished controls at their common borders.
Moroccan authorities have reportedly used riot gear, tear gas and water cannons to contain the thousands of young people, women, and children who persist in their attempt to cross into Ceuta.
