Ceuta's Migrant Camp Full: 1,700 Get Beds, Hundreds Left on the Beach

The transfer of 1,700 migrants to a new government camp at the port of Ceuta has ended. But the operation has barely reduced the size of the beach settlements, leaving hundreds of people without shelter. Police told those left behind that the camp was full. Many had waited for hours in the sun, without water or food. Ahmed, a Moroccan man, could not run like the others. An infected leg wound has left him in a wheelchair. "It hurts a lot, I can't walk," he said. "I need to go to a shelter. I'm exhausted." His friend Annas stayed with him instead of rushing to the camp. "I could be in the center right now, but I won't leave him," Annas said. "There should be room for sick people who can't run." Kamal, who sleeps at the Trampolín beach settlement, woke at 4 a.m. to walk to Benítez. He waited for hours. "The police pushed some of us back," he said. "They told us there was no space." It was his third failed attempt to enter a government center. "I don't think I'll try again." After the transfer, the settlements at Trampolín and Benítez looked much the same. "There are still so many of us," Kamal said. "I don't understand where the 1,700 people came from." Some tents now stand empty. Mohamed pointed to several abandoned by neighbors who left before dawn and succeeded. "They haven't come back," he said. "They made it." But for most, daily life continues in the same poor conditions — one meal a day, no running water, and improvised shelters. Meanwhile, the 1,700 who entered the port camp lined up to receive identification bracelets and be searched before entering. One young man shouted "Hala Madrid" — a sign of joy at finally having a safe place to sleep, more than a month after the migration crisis began.