Moroccan authorities have increased security measures around Ceuta, a Spanish enclave bordering Morocco, following rumors of another mass crossing attempt by migrants. So far this year, an estimated 72,000 people crossed into Ceuta, with around 2,000-8,000 remaining in the enclave. Many are living in desperate circumstances, including sleeping on the beach while waiting for their fate to be decided. The article highlights the plight of two Moroccans, Malika and Ahmed Amhid, who have been trying to reach Ceuta despite facing dire conditions at home.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Here's a summary of the news story:
In late July, an estimated 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, with over 100 deaths reported in the attempt. However, most of those who made it to Ceuta have since returned to Morocco, leaving behind a small group of 2,000-8,000 people living in desperate circumstances on the beach. The migrants, including Malika and her two children, were forced to sleep outdoors for almost three weeks without adequate sanitation or access to legal procedures. In response to the crisis, Spain has started transferring migrants from the beach to temporary shelters, with over 1,200 people moved so far, and plans to provide space for around 1,800 people in military facilities and tents. The UN refugee agency and Human Rights Watch have called on Spain to ensure access to healthcare and asylum procedures for the migrants.
Written for “Migration in Ceuta Crisis” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
There are only a few kilometers between the city of Fnideq in Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta — but the distance between those who dream of crossing that divide and those who chose to stay in Morocco is far greater than that.
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who → be → that
After July 30, when an estimated 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, there were further calls on social media for people to come to Fnideq for another mass crossing attempt in mid-August.
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people → estimate → August
That is despite the fact that around 100 people died in the July attempt and that most of those who crossed into Ceuta have since returned to Morocco.
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who → die → Morocco
Numbers are unclear but somewhere between 2,000 and 8,000 of those who managed to get over to the Spanish enclave remain there.
uncertain
who → manage → enclave
According to reports, they are now living in desperate circumstances.
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they → accord → circumstances
Many are sleeping on the beach while they wait for Spanish authorities to decide their fate.
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authorities → sleep → fate
Homeless and desperate in Morocco
Still, back in Morocco, some would-be migrants continue to hope for a chance to get to Ceuta.
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migrants → continue → Ceuta
Malika came to Fnideq from the city of Casablanca in western Morocco with her two children after she heard that people had managed to get there on July 30; she did not want to give DW her full name for personal reasons.
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she → come → reasons
"My life is below zero," she said, with tears in her eyes.
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she → say → eyes
"I have no life."
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I → have → life
Malika heard there might be a new opportunity to cross in August so she has stayed in Fnideq, together with her 3-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son.
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she → hear → daughter
For the past few weeks, she says she has simply wandered the streets searching for ways to feed her children.
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she → say → children
The family has slept in the open.
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family → sleep → open
But rumors about an August crossing also reached both Spanish and Moroccan authorities.
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rumors → reach → authorities
On August 15, eyewitnesses reported a heavy Moroccan security presence around Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish exclave to the east, with numerous checkpoints, patrol boats monitoring the coast and water cannons stationed at the border.
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eyewitnesses → report → border
Moroccan police said they arrested 111 people as they tried to enter Ceuta.
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they → say → Ceuta
There was no mass crossing on August 15 and Malika has remained in Fnideq.
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Malika → be → Fnideq
"I'm in a situation where I might do something to myself at any moment," she told DW.
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she → do → DW
"My children are starving.
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children → starve → ?
I have no job and no stable home, and my husband suffers from depression due to extreme poverty.
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husband → have → poverty
Sometimes he just disappears, leaving me alone with the two children, without money or shelter.
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he → disappear → money
"
That is why she still wants to get to Ceuta, she says, where she is certain she and the children will find support of some kind: "Our situation is very difficult. …
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situation → want → kind
that's why I want them to go to Ceuta.
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them → want → Ceuta
They will study there and we will be fine.
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we → study → ?
No future, no hope
Another man that DW meets in Fnideq, Ahmed Amhid, is in a better position.
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DW → meet → position
He's 22 years old and he came from Oued Zem in central Morocco after hearing about the August crossing.
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he → come → crossing
He is with a relative selling drinks on the street.
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He → sell → street
Amhid says there are no job opportunities in his hometown and he feels like there's no future for him there.
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he → say → him
"The situation is deplorable, there's nothing in this country," he says angrily.
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he → be → country
"I want to emigrate from Morocco.
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I → want → Morocco
I have no hope in this country."
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I → have → country
Amhid pauses to offer a glass of orange juice to a customer before continuing.
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Amhid → pause → customer
"There's nothing in this country: no jobs, no industries, no companies, nothing," he told DW.
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he → be → DW
"My current income isn't enough to support me or build a future."
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income → support → future
Many of the young people, like Amhid, who arrived in Fnideq recently came because of what they had seen on social media, explains Ahmed al-Dafri, a Moroccan expert on media and culture.
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Dafri → arrive → media
This kind of online call represents "a new model of digital mobilization that doesn't necessarily require a single leader or a central authority," al-Dafri told DW.
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Dafri → represent → DW
"When videos circulate widely, especially those documenting past successful attempts to cross, it creates a feeling that everyone wants to migrate and that no one wants to stay.
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one → circulate → feeling
"
This type of content can give people a feeling of exclusion if they don't join in the collective movement, he explains.
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he → give → movement
Not everybody wants to leave Morocco
Nearer to the border between the city and Ceuta, DW meets Mohamed al-Dami.
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DW → want → Dami
The 30-year-old says he isn't even thinking about leaving Morocco, even though he watched many people try recently.
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people → say → Morocco
…and 29 more, not listed.
