Where Is Ceuta, and Why Did Tens of Thousands Cross the Border in a Single Day?

To get from Africa to Europe, people usually have to travel by boat.

But there are exactly two places where it is possible to get there on foot or by swimming. At one of them, tens of thousands crossed the border in a single day last week.

One look at a map makes it clear.

3-line summary
1. Ceuta, which borders Morocco, is Spanish territory.
2. As many as 6만 people crossed in a single day, and the death toll exceeded 70.
3. One border became a problem for the entire EU.

Europe in Africa

Ceuta sits at the northern tip of the African continent. It is a small territory across the Strait of Gibraltar, surrounded by Moroccan territory.

But this is Spain. It has been since 1580. It is one of Spain’s autonomous cities and, therefore, EU territory as well.

It covers less than 20㎢. It is smaller than Gwanak District in Seoul. About 8만 people live there.

There is another city called Melilla, 220km to the southeast. Its situation is the same.

These two places are the only points where the EU shares a land border with the African continent. Compared with routes across the Mediterranean, where hundreds of people die each year, this is a single border line.

On June 29, a ruling was issued

Until now, Spain had carried out “immediate returns” at this border. This meant sending people who crossed back to Morocco immediately, without procedures.

On June 29, Spain’s Supreme Court put the brakes on this practice. It ruled that immediate returns cannot be applied to people who entered by sea, and that whether to deport them must be decided after following established procedures, such as applying for asylum.

The court did not open the border. It said that procedures must be followed.

But as the ruling spread through social media in Morocco, its meaning changed. It was framed as: “If you swim in, they cannot send you back.”

Spain’s Interior Ministry said organizations arranging irregular migration were using the ruling to encourage people. The Moroccan government likewise said rumors and interpretations of the ruling were the cause.

4만 9,000 people, or 6만, in one day

This unfolded over two days.

The Spanish government said 4만 9,000 people entered within 24 hours, while Ceuta’s autonomous government put the figure at 6만. Most were young men.

There were two methods. People either avoided the barbed-wire fencing at the land border by going around by sea and swimming in, or climbed the breakwater topped with the border fence.

Deaths occurred at these two points: from drowning, or from being pushed and trampled on the breakwater.

The count changed by the day. Al Jazeera reported that the death toll rose from 57 on July 31 to 67 on August 1, and to 72 on August 2. It increased further afterward.

And most of them went back

This is the least-known part of the situation.

By August 3, about 7만 people had voluntarily returned to Morocco through border checkpoints. The number remaining in Ceuta was around 3,000–5,000.

Most of those who entered had gone back within a few days. Spain deployed the military to help verify identities and facilitate returns, and installed a 500m-long floating barrier on the sea side.

Why the figures differ

There is a reason that articles covering this situation give different numbers.

First, the bodies doing the counting differ. Spain’s central government, Ceuta’s autonomous government, and Morocco’s Interior Ministry each report different figures. Morocco countered that Spain’s announcements lacked an objective basis.

The same is true of deaths. Those confirmed on the Ceuta side and those confirmed on the Moroccan side are counted separately.

Above all, in a situation like this, the count rises in real time. That is why figures in articles from a few days ago differ from today’s figures. It is important to look at the date alongside the article.

Why all of Europe was shaken

If people who entered Ceuta move to mainland Spain, they can then travel among several European countries without border checks. That is because of the Schengen Agreement.

So this did not end as a problem for Spain alone.

France resumed border checks with Spain on July 31. Italy called for Spain to be temporarily removed from Schengen, and Germany, Sweden, Austria, and others took similar positions.

22 EU leaders signed a letter stating, in effect, that Spain’s migrant policies were helping draw people in.

What happened at one border thus shook the entire borderless system.

If you are planning to travel in Europe

Within the Schengen Area, people normally just cross borders. Even when traveling between countries by train or bus, the basic expectation has been no inspection.

That expectation is now temporarily on hold at Spain’s border. France’s revival of checks means you may have to take out your passport when entering France from Barcelona by train, or traveling the other way. If you are planning overland travel involving Spain, it may be better not to put your passport deep in your bag.

The resumption of border controls is a temporary measure, and whether it is implemented and for how long varies by country. It can be lifted within days or extended, so checking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Overseas Safety Travel notices and announcements from the relevant country just before departure is more accurate than relying on current talk.

Eightfold in 5 years

Something similar happened in the same place. In May 2021, about 8,000 people entered Ceuta over two days. At the time, Morocco had loosened border controls amid a diplomatic dispute over Western Sahara, so the cause was relatively clear.

This time, Morocco denies that point. Morocco’s ambassador to Spain said, “This is not a situation the Kingdom of Morocco wanted.” The cause has become unclear, but the scale is eightfold.

It is difficult to reduce this situation to one side’s fault. The ruling said procedures must be followed; rumors conveyed it differently; and people believed the rumors and moved.

But one thing is clear. The 20㎢ border where Africa and Europe meet by land will remain in the same place going forward.

Sources

This is a matter in which figures vary depending on the counting institution and timing. The figures above are based on the point in time stated in each report; for the latest situation, please check announcements from the relevant institutions.