'One a Day': What Happened in Ceuta?
In the podcast episode 'One a Day', Ohad Hemo recounts his visit to Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, after tens of thousands of migrants crossed its border by sea and land. Hemo describes encounters with migrants from Morocco, Yemen, Sudan, and the Palestinian Authority, and the anxiety of city residents who criticize the immigration policy of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
In the 'One a Day' podcast episode by N12, journalist Ohad Hemo tells of his visit to Ceuta, a small Spanish enclave in North Africa with about 83,000 residents, surrounded by Moroccan territory. The visit took place shortly after an unprecedented event in which about 72,000 migrants crossed the city's border by sea and land within hours, causing the border system to collapse and flooding the city. Hemo and photographer Asaf Binder were in the city after the mass incursion, and despite authorities reporting that only a handful of migrants remained, they met and spoke with many. The migrants, who came from Morocco, Yemen, Sudan, and even the Palestinian Authority, describe severe poverty and impossible living conditions in their home countries. For them, Morocco is just a transit point on the way to Europe, and they see Ceuta as a ticket to a better life, so much so that mothers swim across the sea with their children on their backs. In contrast, Ceuta's residents lock themselves in their homes in fear, describe the event as an 'invasion', sharply criticize the lenient immigration policy of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and feel abandoned on the front line of the struggle for Europe's future and character.