A group of Ceuta residents and workers on Tuesday formed a human chain to protest against a new migrant shelter the Spanish socialist central government is preparing near the embattled exclave’s port.
Over the past days, the Spanish government has been working around the clock to open a new migrant shelter near the west pier of the Port of Ceuta. The soon-to-open center is one of several “temporary” shelters that have been established in recent weeks to house the illegal migrants that still remain in Ceuta following the late July invasion of the exclave.
According to Spanish outlets, the government intends to house about 1,000 migrants in the new shelter — mainly with those who are still occupying the Benitéz and Trampolín beaches with shanty tents.
The plans have been met with fierce backlash from nearby residents and port workers, who deem it to represent a danger to their personal safety and that of the docks.
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Per El Faro de Ceuta, the transfer of the migrants appears to be “imminent,” as its tents are “practically prepared.”
The impending transfer prompted residents and port workers to stage a peaceful protest and human chain on Tuesday evening.
Several of the protesters that formed the human chain espoused some of the pro-Ceuta chants that have been exclaimed all across Spain ever since the invasion began — including, but not limited to, “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta is defended,” and “Ceuta, united, will never be defeated.”
“We’re already fed up — and getting more and more fed up — with what’s happening in Ceuta,” one of the protesters, identified by El Faro de Ceuta as Miguel Ángel Oncina, said, before condemning the “entire government with all its little cronies” for the worsening situation at the city.
Oncina affirmed to El Faro that the “temporary” shelter that they are protesting against represents a violation of all of the existing port laws and regulations. He explained that the shelter represents a significant security risk to the area, as it will be located within proximity of three Ceuta port fuel deposits, as well as within a 50-meter proximity of a nearby school and a ship used for transportation.
The protester emphasized the community will keep protesting “every time we can,” stressing that what the government’s actions are “not normal.”
“We are citizens of Ceuta, we’ve lived here our whole lives. We are hardworking people, we pay our taxes, we’ve done our military service; we have children; we have grandchildren; we are autonomous, and what we want is the freedom we used to have — which we’re losing, losing it completely,” the man told El Faro de Ceuta.
“We can’t walk the streets why? Easy, because you might run into a thief, you might run into a rapist,” he continued. “They’re mistreating our elders, our women, our children, our grandchildren, and as you can understand, that shouldn’t be allowed in a country that’s supposed to be democratic.”
An unidentified woman that participated in the protest explained to El Faro that she works in the area. She expressed to be concerned over the consequences that the migrant shelter may cause to her personal safety and her fellow co-workers.
“This is a danger to all of us because we have to go around with pepper spray in hand,” she said. “We are afraid, and cannot take it anymore.”
Tuesday’s protest is the latest in a growing list of peaceful demonstrations staged by Ceuta residents, many of whom have vehemently rejected the continued presence of the remaining invading illegals and demand solutions to the worsening conditions at their once-peaceful city following the invasion.
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