Ceuta Crisis: Hundreds of Illegal Migrants Demand Asylum Benefits

Hundreds of illegal migrants that stormed Ceuta staged a protest Sunday demanding the Spanish government grant them immediate asylum benefits including – but not limited to – food, shelter, medical treatment, and freedom of movement to mainland Spain and beyond to the rest of Europe.

Per Spanish outlets, the protest was staged by about 200 migrants from the broader group encamped at El Trampolín beach — now marred with over 80 makeshift hubs made of garbage. The migrants, mostly composed of Moroccan and Subsaharan nationals, affirmed that they do not want to return to their respective countries of origin and thus demand asylum protections in Spain and a chance to travel to mainland Europe.

Footage published by Spanish outlets show the migrants holding cardboard signs and Spanish flags while yelling chants of “Asylum” and “What do we want? Asylum.”

According to the public broadcaster RTVE, some of the non-government organizations and groups that have been providing assistance to the illegal migrants reportedly “helped several of them create and write the signs later displayed during the gathering, in addition to encouraging and cheering on the protest.”

The local outlet El Faro de Ceuta reports that the protest started after an unspecified amount of Moroccan nationals had their asylum requests denied at temporary migrant shelters. According to the outlet, the migrants attempted to march towards downtown Ceuta but their efforts were contained by military officials.

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