Sahra is only 5 years old. Since the crossing to Ceuta, she has kept her mother from sleeping: whenever Assia closes her eyes, her daughter asks her to open them again, convinced that she could die after believing she was drowning.
Felipe VI has committed to visiting Ceuta following the recent migration crisis. No date has yet been set, but the last visit by a Spanish sovereign to the city had triggered serious diplomatic tensions with Morocco.
After the Ceuta crisis , several analysts believe that Rabat’s proximity to Washington is bolstering Morocco’s confidence in its dealings with Spain and a Europe dependent on its cooperation on migration. However, no public evidence demonstrates any coordination with the Trump administration.
In Ceuta, Sabah Hamed has turned her home into a humanitarian aid point. She receives around 400 migrants there every day, the vast majority of them Moroccan, offering them food, clean clothes and the chance to wash.
A few days after dozens of migrants died while attempting to reach Ceuta, a new date is circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp . Young Moroccans are discussing a collective attempt on 15 August, despite calls not to repeat the tragedy.
The migration crisis in Ceuta has prompted extremely violent remarks in Spain. A priest from Navarre is calling for migrants to be fired upon, Rabat to be bombed and Morocco to be «reconquered».
Before the mass attempt to enter Ceuta, the social networks did not all play the same role. TikTok attracted potential migrants, Facebook brought the routes together, while WhatsApp turned the desire to leave into a concrete rendezvous.
Behind the mass crossing to Ceuta , several young Moroccans describe salaries too low to live on and a lack of prospects. For some, messages circulated on WhatsApp were the trigger for leaving.
WhatsApp groups administered from Algerian numbers allegedly shared routes, schedules and meeting points ahead of the mass arrivals of July 30 and 31 in Ceuta . A Spanish report refers to a digital campaign that generated more than 11 million potential impacts.
Aziz Akhannouch returned to Morocco on Sunday evening, less than 48 hours after leaving for Majorca. The private trip by the head of government sparked numerous reactions because of its timing, as the country remained affected by the Ceuta crisis.
Google Maps continues to draw the borders of Ceuta and Melilla with dotted lines. This representation, reserved for disputed territorial boundaries, regularly brings Morocco’s claim back to the center of the debate in Spain.
An opinion piece published in Spain imagines an agreement on co-sovereignty with Morocco , followed ten years later by the complete transfer of Ceuta and Melilla to the Kingdom. A scenario that remains fictional, but which brings this possibility into the Spanish debate.