The Moncloa enables Ceuta four humanitarian attention centers for 1,500 migrants

BarcelonaAmidst tension, an agreement. Despite maintaining cross-accusations between the two administrations, the Spanish government and that of Ceuta have agreed this Monday to open four new humanitarian attention facilities in the autonomous city to assist the migrants who arrived during the massive influx and who are now living in precarious conditions in industrial estates and beaches. In a press conference, the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, announced that these four new centers will offer 1,500 new places to assist migrants.

Saiz made these statements after a long meeting with the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, in which both administrations agreed on where these four attention points will be set up. "Collaboration between institutions is fundamental to recover normality as soon as possible," stressed Saiz, who praised the people of Ceuta and criticized that some wish to exploit the crisis "to instill fear and introduce hate speech."

The announcement of the opening of these four temporary centers – which are intended to help decongest areas such as the Temporary Immigrant Stay Center or Trampolín beach – comes more than two weeks after the crisis broke out. A delay that had generated discontent in the city, where for days people had been wondering why spaces were not being set up as had already been done in the 2021 crisis or during the pandemic.

Beyond the four humanitarian attention centers, the Spanish government has also announced that it will strengthen the identification and attention tasks for migrants remaining in Ceuta. This is one of the main measures agreed upon by the executive, following the video conference meeting held this Monday by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez with seven ministers involved in crisis management.

Accusations between García and Vivas

Saiz's tone contrasts with the exchange of reproaches that this morning still involved the Minister of Health, Mónica García, and Vivas himself. In statements to TVE early this morning, García lamented that the regional executive had not yet set up safe spaces to house the migrants. "In the case of my responsibilities, we are gambling with the prevention of public health and the transmission of diseases," García asserted.

Mónica García pointed out that many of the cases treated by health workers so far are due to the migrants' overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, and insisted that there is no situation of health collapse. "We are demanding that what was basically done in 2021 also be done, which is to house all these people so that we can have control and a controlled public health situation, and so that we can carry out these epidemiological investigations that lead us, if we detect an outbreak, to be able to contain it, treat it, administer antibiotics, and follow up on patients," she added.

For his part, Vivas was highly critical of García, whom he accused of "giving lessons in humanity and solidarity." The president of Ceuta called on the Spanish government to effectively apply the declaration of the city as a zone of special difficulty for the practice of healthcare professions. Vivas accused the executive of failing in this area to meet the commitments set out in the Comprehensive Plan for the Socio-Economic Development of the autonomous city, which aims to guarantee the equality of Ceuta's residents with the rest of Spaniards in essential services and establishes Ceuta's consideration as a zone of special difficulty for professional practice.

"Doctors, healthcare workers in general, nurses, all the staff, the entire healthcare collective in Ceuta" have reasons, according to Vivas, to denounce the lack of resources, incentives, and stimuli, and he linked this issue not only to the quality of care but also to the equality of citizens and the economic development and roots of the city. Vivas also argued that care for migrants must be maintained as long as they remain in Ceuta, but he called for the debate not to overshadow the needs of the local population.