In the narrow geography between Europe and Africa, a human tide has receded but left behind what tides always leave — the most vulnerable. Ceuta, a Spanish enclave of 84,000 souls pressed against the Moroccan coast, now holds 1,100 unaccompanied children in facilities built for 90, the remnant of a crossing that killed at least 78 people and briefly overwhelmed the borders of a continent. The territory's leader has named the situation plainly unsustainable, while the political machinery of a divided Spain debates who bears responsibility for children who belong, for now, to no one.
Ceuta's child migrant crisis 'unsustainable' as Spain struggles with overflow
At least 78 people died during the migration influx, with 11 deaths on the Moroccan side primarily from drowning; hundreds of unaccompanied children now face life-threatening conditions in overcrowded facilities.