In the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the North African coast, hundreds of unaccompanied minors are stranded following a massive surge of migrants who swam around the border fence with Morocco to reach Spanish territory. According to the Associated Press, more than 800 unaccompanied minors remain among the migrants, facing an uncertain future.

Many of the children are traumatized after witnessing family members drown in the Mediterranean Sea. A 17-year-old girl from Tangier told the AP that she saw Spanish police pulling the body of her eight-year-old brother from the water when she made it to shore. She was also separated from her mother during the journey.

“I saw people stepping on the dead,” she said through a translator. “Now we are children begging on the street.” After finding a government facility for youths in need full, she is now relying on locals for food and shelter.

Spanish law mandates that unaccompanied minors be granted protection and receive “immediate attention” from child protection services. However, implementation is inconsistent. An AP journalist witnessed Spanish soldiers escorting a crying Moroccan boy who begged not to be sent back. Due to pressure from local residents who insisted he was a minor, the boy was transferred to the Spanish Civil Guard instead of being repatriated.

Most of the Moroccan adults who arrived last week have either voluntarily gone home or were pushed back by Spanish police. Among the remaining in Ceuta are significant numbers of people from other countries, including Sudanese fleeing their war-torn country, Palestinians from Gaza, Afghans, and people from several African nations.

The city’s migrant center is full — it has a capacity for 600 people. Food is scarce among the migrants, according to reporting by AP and AFP. Many are sleeping outside or resting on the beach or on the hills surrounding Ceuta. In the hazy distance, mainland Europe, their ultimate goal, lies across the sea.

Source: www.aljazeera.com