Minors living alone on Ceuta's streets at risk of abuse

Read the original at Deutsche Welle ↗
Cite

Scholz, J. P. (2026, August 19). Minors living alone on Ceuta's streets at risk of abuse. Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/en/minors-living-alone-on-ceuta-s-streets-at-risk-of-abuse/a-78416604?maca=en-rss-en-world-4025-rdf

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Deutsche Welle · collected 2026-08-19 · by Jan-Philipp Scholz

Quick Summary

There are an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 unaccompanied minors living on the streets of Ceuta, a Spanish autonomous city near Morocco, with some living in makeshift tents due to overcrowding at reception facilities. According to local authorities, around 9,000 migrants remain in Ceuta after crossing from Morocco in late July, and many are experiencing difficulties such as lack of access to basic necessities like toilets. The number of reported cases of rape has risen sharply, with police investigating at least 15 suspected cases, although the actual number is believed to be higher. Emergency doctor Susana Ascaso notes that girls under 18 are particularly at risk due to a lack of female migrants and inadequate support from local authorities.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-19, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Thousands of unaccompanied minors, estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000, are living on the streets of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan border. Many have crossed into Spain from Morocco with their families, but some were left behind when their parents returned home. 80,000 people crossed into Spain in late July, and while most have since left, 9,000 remain, including many minors. The minors are living in makeshift tents without access to basic necessities like toilets, forcing them to use the bushes nearby. Some families, like Malika's, are struggling to make ends meet on low wages, with Malika earning just €7 ($8) a day as a cleaning lady. Local authorities estimate that many of these unaccompanied minors will be left to fend for themselves without adequate support.

Written for “Abuse of Unaccompanied Minors” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Abuse of Unaccompanied Minors
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
43
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
2 of 43 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
95/100
Deutsche Welle's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Deutsche Welle · 437 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Jan-Philipp Scholz
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "School will start again soon, and I don't have any money for books, nor even decent clothes for the children.
2026-08-19 · assertive framing · Minors living alone on Ceuta's streets at risk of abuse
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Ceuta Moroccan Morocco Spanish Tarajal

Subjects

Ceuta GPE · 7× Moroccan NORP · 3× Spanish NORP · 3× Amina PERSON · 2× Madrid ORG · 2× Morocco GPE · 2× Malika PERSON · 1× Spain GPE · 1× Susana Ascaso PERSON · 1× Tarajal GPE · 1×

Narrative

Nabila Benzina, the regional minister for health and social affairs, told DW that the current crisis was the "worst moment in Ceuta's history" and said more police officers were needed in the enclave.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-19
🔮 "School will start again soon, and I don't have any money for books, nor even decent clothes for the children.
2026-08-19 · Deutsche Welle
Minors living alone on Ceuta's streets at risk of abuse · assertive framing

Claims (43 extracted, 2 hedged)

Some are living on the streets because they cannot find a spot in one of the already overcrowded reception facilities in the enclave. asserted
they → live → enclave
Amina (not her real name), a 14-year-old Moroccan girl, and her brother were among the 80,000 people who crossed the border into Spain from Morocco in late July. asserted
who → cross → July
Though most of these have since left Ceuta, some 9,000 remain, according to the local authorities — and many are minors. uncertain
many → leave → authorities
" What's worst is that we don't have toilets," said Amina. asserted
Amina → have → toilets
"We have to go somewhere in the bushes, but I don't dare go alone." asserted
I → have → bushes
Close by is a Moroccan woman called Malika (also not her real name) who has spread out several blankets for herself and her four children. asserted
who → call → herself
She told DW she was not making enough as a cleaning lady in Morocco, adding that she earned the equivalent of €7 ($8) per day. asserted
she → tell → day
"That's just not enough to provide for everyone," she said. asserted
she → provide → everyone
"School will start again soon, and I don't have any money for books, nor even decent clothes for the children. asserted
I → start → children
That's why she decided to take part in the mass crossing of the Spanish border last month when she read about it on social media. asserted
she → decide → media
But now she doesn't know what to do. asserted
she → know → what
"One child got sick. asserted
child → get → ?
He had a high fever, but I couldn't get help anywhere," she said. asserted
she → have → help
In the end, she made compresses with water and vinegar to see if that would help. asserted
that → make → water
But now she is particularly worried about her 12-and 14-year-old daughters, because the number of sexual assaults has risen sharply in the past week. asserted
number → rise → week
Police are currently investigating at least 15 suspected cases of rape. asserted
Police → investigate → rape
The local authorities suspect the actual number of cases to be much higher. asserted
number → suspect → cases
Conditions particularly difficult for girls Susana Ascaso, an emergency doctor at Ceuta University Hospital, said she had treated several young girls in recent days. asserted
she → say → days
"Just yesterday, another 12-year-old came to the emergency room," she said. asserted
she → come → room
"She said that other migrants had harassed her and touched her inappropriately. asserted
migrants → say → her
She arrived here completely terrified and in tears. asserted
She → arrive → tears
She was with a woman who had found her on the street. asserted
who → find → street
That woman saved the girl." asserted
woman → save → girl
Ascaso said conditions were particularly difficult for "girls under 18" who were "particularly at risk." asserted
who → say → risk
She added that there was a major imbalance in the numbers of male and female migrants. asserted
She → add → migrants
"That doesn't help, of course." asserted
That → help → course
Several high-ranking politicians in Ceuta have called for more support from the central government in the Spanish capital, Madrid. asserted
politicians → rank → capital
Nabila Benzina, the regional minister for health and social affairs, told DW that the current crisis was the "worst moment in Ceuta's history" and said more police officers were needed in the enclave. asserted
officers → tell → enclave
Ceuta's president, Juan Jesus Vivas, spoke of a "high-risk situation," in which it was increasingly difficult to maintain public services. asserted
it → speak → services
"As far as minors are concerned, we are currently 5,000% over capacity," he said. asserted
he → concern → capacity
"That means nobody can look after them adequately. asserted
nobody → mean → them
'I'd like to be an architect one day' asserted
I → like → ?
The Spanish government has announced plans to transfer unaccompanied minors to the mainland but there is no concrete timeline. asserted
government → announce → mainland
Several regions, in which the far-right Vox party is part of the government, have said they refuse to take in any migrants. asserted
they → say → migrants
Vivas told DW that the minors should be "reunited with their families. asserted
minors → tell → families
Otherwise, the Moroccan social services should assume responsibility for them." asserted
services → assume → them
He said this was the only solution, adding that Madrid should put the "appropriate legal proceedings" in motion. asserted
Madrid → say → motion
Many of the minors in Ceuta said they do not want to go back to Morocco or elsewhere in Africa despite the conditions in Ceuta. asserted
they → say → Ceuta
Ibrahim, a 7-year-old child from Sudan, said he would not give up until he could provide "a better life for his parents back home." uncertain
he → say → parents
Amina, 14, also said she would not go back to Morocco. asserted
she → say → Morocco
…and 3 more, not listed.
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support