While Some Migrants Are Being Attended in Facilities Set Up by the Authorities, Others Remain in Makeshift Settlements in Spain

Neighborhood leaders in Ceuta met with the city's president, Juan Jesús Vivas, on Saturday to voice their daily complaints amid the migration crisis that has hit the Spanish enclave since the mass entry on July 30. The representatives described fear, insecurity, dirt, and uncertainty over how long the situation may last, with some saying children are losing their childhood because they cannot even go to the park. "I want to be able to leave the house with my children. We need to breathe and ease tensions, said Samir, a father.

Another leader added, "If they can't even go to the park, children lose their childhood. The peripheral neighborhoods are bearing the brunt of the presence of thousands of migrants still in Ceuta. "This is total chaos, said José María Romero, a representative from the Recinto Sur neighborhood.

While some migrants are being attended in facilities set up by the authorities, others remain in makeshift settlements. Residents also report people housed in homes, premises, and storage rooms in overcrowded conditions, with around 15 occupants sharing very small spaces in some cases. These people are hidden from all administrations, waiting for the right moment to emerge with the long-term goal of reaching the European continent.

Vivas's government faces the challenge of knowing who is staying in those places and under what conditions, without the possibility of keeping a register or control for now. There is a curious cross-party consensus among the neighborhood representatives: "This is not about left or right. Urgency has diluted ideologies, and the desire for normality prevails.

Security is the most repeated word when residents describe what happens in the late afternoon hours. They criticize the scarce police presence in certain areas after dark, when anxiety grows in some neighborhoods. There is also a less visible dimension: the accumulation of waste and unsanitary conditions in certain points.

"Residents don't open their windows because of the smell, denounced one attendee. The complaint reflects the wear caused by a crisis that has gone beyond strictly migration management to affect municipal services and the ordinary functioning of some areas. Ceuta's government admits that services and security are among the priority issues given the residents' verdict that they are at their limit.

They also ask that Ceuta not face the situation alone, which they believe should affect the whole country. "We don't want to be alone. We want all of Spain to support us.

Today it's our turn, tomorrow it may be others, summarized one attendee. On the near horizon, there is a date that especially worries families: the return to school in a few weeks, when minors will have to travel daily to educational centers, many without accompaniment. "We have children of 13, 14, or 15 who go to class alone, warned one representative.

"They can't go out on the street or come back from school like this. That concern turns the calendar into a countdown for families who cannot adapt their schedules to an exceptional situation. Vivas does not change his expression and appeals for composure, while praising the exemplary behavior of the citizens, recognized beyond this capital in another continent that claims to be the heart of a country.

If the government abandons us, at least let the Spaniards not do so, concluded José María Barrio. The round of neighborhood meetings began last week, and the passage of days does not dilute the complaints, underscoring the desperation. Vivas insists repeatedly on asking for unity, temperance, and serenity as a mantra to calm the voices coming from the neighborhoods.