Racist violence erupts in Ceuta: organized groups attack migrants and Muslim neighbors

The Spanish government and the city council of Ceuta have agreed on new spaces to accommodate migrants still remaining on the streets following a surge in arrivals last month. The agreement was reached during a meeting of the National Security Interest Committee held on Friday, according to sources from the Moncloa palace. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, saw all members agree on the need to condemn violence uniformly to ensure peaceful coexistence after several days of unrest and attacks against migrants staying on the beach due to a lack of accommodation. On Thursday afternoon, for the second consecutive day, dozens of residents of Ceuta destroyed the belongings of people staying on the beach and set parts of the settlements on fire after attempting to prevent the Red Cross from distributing food. Similar incidents occurred on Wednesday, when hundreds of Ceutans headed to the area and tried to drive out the migrants sleeping outdoors by throwing their possessions into the water, forcing police intervention. Later that night, authorities reported the arrest of 12 individuals for throwing stones at a vehicle carrying four military personnel. Ceuta's mayor, Juan Jesús Vivas, opposed including the city’s sports centers in the list under threat of taking refuge there, “They will have to remove me from them”, and the government accepted removing them, so the full list of spaces available for sheltering migrants will be revised. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska estimated on Friday in Congress that 5,000 people continue to remain in the autonomous city. This number includes the 1,500 unaccompanied minors identified and handed over to the city’s administration by the National Police, which is responsible for their care. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Childhood continues searching for solutions regarding female and teenage migrant children. Grande-Marlaska was one of the last officials this week to appear before Congress to account for the management of the humanitarian crisis, a day marked by episodes of violence in Ceuta. He described the situation as “extraordinary” and “undoubtedly worrying,” but emphasized that “violence is not in any case the solution.” PP deputy Javier Celaya, originally from Ceuta, joined the call for calm. “Anyone who thinks that violence helps Ceuta is completely mistaken. All it does is give wings to those who want to portray invaders as victims, when the real victims are the Ceutans,” he stated. Cuca Gamarra, vice-secretary of Institutional Renewal of the PP, said in an interview that “nobody justifies violence,” but added that the government should be aware that the tension to which citizens are subjected “is due to its inability and inefficiency.” Just 24 hours after 70,000 migrants crossed by swimming and through the border wall of El Tarajal into Ceuta on August 1, residents took to the streets to protest against far-right European Parliament member Alvise Pérez and neo-Nazi group Núcleo Nacional, who sought to capitalize politically on the humanitarian tragedy. Hundreds of Ceutans gathered in the Plaza de los Reyes with the intention of preventing these racist and xenophobic groups from breaking down coexistence. Alvise had to leave in a police van, and the same happened to ultra-right agitator Vito Quiles the following day, who had to flee from the central square amid the agitation his presence generated among locals. Almost a month later, however, the ultra-xenophobic and violent discourse has gained ground. Evidence of this can be found in marches toward the Trampolín Beach, where hundreds of Moroccans live in makeshift shelters built by themselves. On Tuesday, the first incidents occurred between protesters and police agents, but on Wednesday the demonstration turned into a hunt for migrants and ended up becoming a street battle in which riot police had to fully engage using rubber bullets, batons, and shields to prevent them from reaching the sandy area and attacking the young people in the improvised settlement. The most serious xenophobic incident occurred on Thursday afternoon, when agitators burned several migrant tents on Benítez Beach. All of this stems from a mantra circulating among large sectors of the population: “If the Government doesn’t do its job and expels them, we will.” Those who, day after day, seek conflict with foreigners under this excuse, or those who try to end the distribution of food by organizations such as the Red Cross (something they achieved on Thursday) or attack journalists, further degrade any moderate speech, which they consider “anti-Ceutan” or “anti-patriotic.” Most of the inhabitants of the city, both right-wing and left-wing, agree in blaming the central government and Pedro Sánchez for what they consider a disastrous management of the crisis, with thousands of people (5,000, said Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska in Congress) still wandering the streets 28 days after arriving by swimming. However, those who oppose violence and wish to assist the migrants begin to be careful about where and to whom they communicate these ideas. A kind of omertà has been imposed, out of fear of being labeled collaborators of those the extremists call “invaders.” Incitement to violent acts occurs through Instagram, TikTok, or X, as well as in mass WhatsApp groups. Sources from the National Police, which monitors social networks, rule out, however, that it is organized actions or manipulations by extreme right parties or groups from the city or the Peninsula. According to the officers, the dynamic is always the same. A certain publication causes hundreds of excited responses, and together they end up organizing attacks. It is in this way that the agents try to anticipate radical groups to avoid greater harm. However, it is not only that type of violence that threatens coexistence. There is another, less intense, that also poses a risk. For example, on Thursday, a text titled “List of establishments we propose to boycott in Ceuta” circulated through messaging apps. Each member added businesses “that sell or charge phones to immigrants.” Large stores such as Carrefour or Decathlon and franchises such as the bakeries Granier or 100 Montaditos appeared alongside them. But also, along with them, popular cafes, small shops and grocery stores, Chinese markets, restaurants, and even Passing half past eight on Wednesday evening, the protest against the government, called via social networks and WhatsApp groups due to the situation in which the massive arrival of migrants from Morocco at the end of July has plunged Ceuta, begins to lose meaning. The second spontaneous march, gathering hundreds of people, reaches the Plaza de los Reyes, headquarters of the Government Delegation, but the protest, after the repeated shouts of “Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch,” the chants of “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta defends itself,” and the demands for the resignation of the head of the executive in the city, starts to fade. Except for a group of extremists who, at that moment, initiate the first collective outbreak of xenophobia that has been experienced in the autonomous city since July 31. After colliding with a small contingent of agents who prevented their descent towards the Paseo de la Marina through the Camoens Street, the leaders of this march descend through Millán Astray Street shouting “Yes, yes, yes, we go to Trampolín,” referring to the beach where the main makeshift camp is located, where hundreds of migrants are sheltered in huts built by themselves. Moments earlier, the first violent incident of the protest occurred when the riot police had to carry almost in volandas a team from TVE doing their work away from the march. After arriving at the Constitution Square, the chorus of demonstrators heads west, insulting and attacking any young person of Maghreb appearance who does not know how to speak Spanish. The first incident takes place in the central Africa Square. A man with red hair and beard wearing a purple shirt stops a teenager in shorts and flip-flops, pulling him by the shirt. “Are you Spanish? Show me your ID.” When he sees that the boy understands nothing of what they are saying, he kicks him hard in the back. The teenager mutters something in Arabic and runs away terrified. The aggression goes unnoticed by the police controlling, still somewhat relaxed, the protest. But many demonstrators start to withdraw after witnessing the scene. The aggressor justifies himself: “Forgive me, I can't take it anymore after twenty-something days and I couldn't control myself.” We are on the N-354, the road connecting Ceuta with the neighborhood of Benzú in the northwest of the city crossing the entire northern coast. After passing the royal walls, the bastion situated in the narrowest part of the population, several anti-riot vans begin to position themselves in front of the demonstration. Dozens of agents guide the march, which has already gone from several thousand people to a few hundred, while the police vehicles lead the way cutting traffic as they pass. During the journey, several attempts are made to attack young migrants who remain in the parks or exit supermarkets. The boys run at full speed towards the Trampolín when they start to be chased or insulted. Terrified. The agents encourage them to do so warning them of the danger they face. Halfway through the route, a group of regulars, the Ceutan soldiers wearing the characteristic red fez, applaud the extremists from the sidewalk. The group has already arrived at Benítez Beach, the one before the Trampolín, the one the foreigners have chosen to settle. While the agents contain the violent ones on the seaside promenade, dozens of youths run scared through the sand with their food bags. “Go back to your country, you dirty dog! Go back to your country, you bastard!” shouts a hooded man at a teenager appearing to be