CEUTA, Spain — Hundreds of unaccompanied minors remained outdoors in a disused industrial area in Ceuta on Saturday after swimming from Morocco to the Spanish territory, with some saying they had gone days without enough food or proper shelter.
AFP reporters saw teenagers in worn clothing and sandals sleeping on pavements, cardboard and makeshift structures inside the abandoned industrial complex.
The minors formed part of a much larger group of migrants who entered Ceuta during an unprecedented surge this week. Many crossed by swimming around the small border post that extends into the Mediterranean Sea.
Spanish authorities returned most of the migrants to Morocco, but many of the youngest arrivals remained in Ceuta as they hoped to reach mainland Spain.
“Morocco, no! Spain,” several minors shouted as they explained their reasons for making the dangerous crossing.
AFP does not solicit testimonies from unaccompanied minors or identify them under its ethical code.
Inside one abandoned warehouse, minors moved around a floor covered with water and mud. Some used a single hosepipe to wash, while others slept outside in the heat.
One teenager who said he was 17 showed AFP a makeshift shelter made from metal bars and wooden pallets where he said he and other youths had slept.
Private security guards prevented access to another warehouse that appeared to house additional young migrants. A sign identified the SAMU Foundation and the Ceuta regional government as operators of the site. Workers declined to comment.
Spanish soldiers meanwhile escorted hundreds of other migrants, mostly young men and youths, through Ceuta toward the border for return to Morocco.
Spanish law requires authorities to provide immediate assistance from child protection services when police identify an undocumented, unaccompanied migrant suspected of being a minor. Courts then determine whether authorities can return the child to the country of origin based on the child’s family circumstances.
Aziz Dabch, 41, one of the few adults among the migrants sheltering at the site, said the unaccompanied minors lacked adequate care.
“There is no food. We have not eaten today,” said Dabch’s 17-year-old daughter, who was sitting beside him.
Another woman, 45, said the site had poor hygiene and lacked basic necessities.
“There is a catastrophic lack of hygiene — smells, rubbish,” she said.
She said authorities should provide minors with basic care, including food, clothing, washing facilities and shelter.
Local government head Juan Jesus Vivas estimated that about 60,000 migrants reached Ceuta over two or three days. Spain’s Interior Ministry put the number at about 50,000.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said at least 67 migrants died while attempting to swim to Ceuta.
Vivas described the situation as a “total humanitarian and social emergency.”
The Ceuta government and the central government delegation in the territory did not respond to AFP requests for comment Saturday.