Spain prepares new migrant site in Ceuta near nursery school

Spanish authorities are preparing a new temporary site in Ceuta to accommodate hundreds of migrants who remain on the streets following the large-scale arrivals from Morocco in July, local media reported Saturday, September 5.

Workers began setting up two tents in an open area in the Los Rosales neighbourhood, next to the Nuestra Senora de Africa nursery school, according to foreign media. National Police officers were deployed at the site to prevent possible incidents.

The work began on Friday after protests by nursery employees and parents who raised concerns about the facility’s proximity to the school. Local reporting confirmed that parents, teachers and other residents had gathered to oppose the installation before construction resumed under police presence.

The nursery is expected to open on September 28 and has capacity for about 176 children aged up to 3.

Authorities have already prepared additional sites in Loma Colmenar, La Hipica and the Tarajal industrial area to accommodate migrants who have been sleeping on the streets or in mountainous areas because of a lack of shelter. The Spanish government said earlier this week that more than 3,400 additional reception places had been established in Ceuta since the mass arrivals.

Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres said on Wednesday that such facilities were necessary to enable authorities to identify migrants and subsequently return most of them to Morocco.

The CCOO trade union called for an alternative location that would allow migrants to receive assistance while also addressing concerns raised by families and public services. The CSIF union, meanwhile, demanded a risk assessment and security guarantees before the nursery opens.

Around 72,000 people crossed irregularly from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31, according to the Spanish government's official estimate. The influx was unprecedented and briefly brought the number of migrants arriving in the enclave to a level almost equivalent to its entire population. The Spanish government has said that around 5,000 migrants who entered during the mass crossings remain in Ceuta, a small Spanish enclave with a population of about 80,000.

The continuing presence of thousands of migrants has left authorities under pressure to expand temporary accommodation and processing capacity, while the proximity of some new facilities to residential areas and schools has prompted protests from local communities.

By Tamilla Hasanova