NEWS headlines around the world in late July and early August, were dominated by reports of tens of thousands of people crossing from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa.
Although many people who crossed in late July have since returned to Morocco, thousands of migrants remain in Ceuta, either in overcrowded temporary accommodation, in makeshift shelters on the beach, or hiding from authorities in the forests and mountains.
On the frontline of the crisis is No Name Kitchen, an organisation which provides direct support to people on the move at several sites on the European Union’s border.
It has been operating in Ceuta since 2021.
Ric Fernandez, No Name Kitchen’s co-ordinator and spokesperson, said organisations like theirs have stepped in because the EU’s response to the crisis has been “flat-out shameful”.
With an influx of people in need of its services, No Name Kitchen had to scale up like never before.
What was previously a team of four people has grown into a 20-person crew responsible for distribution, gathering testimonies and evidence, documentation and comms, psychological support, and medical care. Fernandez said they distribute roughly 1000 rations each day including food, clothing, shoes, and medicine.
He told The National: “Us, the neighbourhood associations, local families — we’re the ones teaching the government how you actually respond fast, instead of spending all day arguing in meeting rooms while people sleep on the street.”
No Name Kitchen works closely with the groups Border Resistance and Asociación Elín, and point to Luna Blanca and Cruz Blanca as other organisations supporting people on the ground. The local community has also organised itself to support the new arrivals, particularly women and girls.
However, Fernandez warned that the situation is pushing aid teams to their limit.
“We’re running like a machine but we’re also hoping like hell this doesn’t become the new normal, because burning at this pace isn’t sustainable,” he said.
What unites everyone in Ceuta according to Fernandez, whether aid workers, residents, or migrants, is frustration with a decades-old problem dominating every conversation and “a suffocating sense of paralysis”. “Nothing moves, nothing progresses, there’s no plan, no continuity, no end in sight,” he said.
The crossing from Morocco to Ceuta is about a five-kilometre swim across a breakwater barrier.
No Name Kitchen says many arrive with wounds, jellyfish stings, dehydration, and bad nutrition. Proper medical care is very difficult to access for people who have crossed illegally.
More than 67 people have been killed in the recent crisis, from drowning or stampedes.
People who attempt this dangerous crossing generally come from Morocco or other African countries such as Sudan or Mali. They aim to seek asylum in the EU, hoping for safety and better opportunities.
Spanish authorities claimed that most migrants have voluntarily returned to Morocco but Fernandez said that in many cases it was “anything but voluntary”.
He claimed that No Name Kitchen has gathered testimonies from people who were allegedly coerced, threatened with violence, or tricked into signing papers they didn’t understand.
In a public briefing on August 20, Francesca, field operations supporter in Ceuta, described an “exponential increase” in police brutality towards both migrants and activists providing support.
“The only goal was sending people back, no matter the cost, no matter the law,” Fernandez said. “Some of these people are fleeing war in Sudan. Some are trafficked minors.”
Although Spanish leaders claimed to be working to expel people as quickly as possible, the Spanish supreme court ruled in June that Spain cannot deport people who enter Ceuta by sea without due process.
The Spanish interior ministry has denied any wrongdoing by its agents and claimed there have been no formal complaints made against the armed forces in Ceuta on July 30 and 31.
SPAIN has now installed a 500-metre barrier along its sea border with Morocco to prevent further crossings. The government has also recently announced plans to send 500 unaccompanied migrant girls to mainland Spain.
This is not the first time that a crisis has unfolded at Ceuta’s border. In 2014, the Spanish civil guard killed 14 people when using rubber bullets and smoke grenades to prevent people from reaching the shore.
In 2021, another mass crossing of approximately 6000 people triggered a humanitarian and diplomatic crisis. Fernandez described the border as “volatile” and “porous,” explaining that it’s mainly Moroccan authorities that control what’s allowed or blocked.
However, he doesn’t believe that tighter border security will prevent future crises at the EU’s borders.
“As long as there are no safe, legal routes, people will keep finding the gaps, the cracks – and they’ll keep getting through,” he said.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez blamed human traffickers for the crisis, while European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called for an end to dangerous crossings.
Some EU leaders, including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, called for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen zone, which Fernandez criticised as “raw ignorance.”
In reality, Ceuta is not part of Schengen, and people cannot travel to mainland Europe without completing exit checks.
In the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham committed to being “relentless” in tackling small boat crossings, but stressed the need for safe routes to prevent human trafficking.
Reform UK’s deputy leader in Scotland, Thomas Kerr, called the events an “invasion” while fellow Reform MSP Mark Simpson called for a state of emergency to be declared in Britain.
Fernandez urged anyone outside Ceuta to remember those at the centre of the crisis.
“What people outside need to hear, past all the geopolitical noise, is this: while all that’s being debated in air-conditioned rooms, there are real people out here desperate for a better life,” he said.
