For more than a month, 21-year-old Anis Fadi, a university graduate and qualified accountant, has been sleeping in a makeshift shelter.
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Fadi → sleep → shelter
At the end of July, he crossed the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on the North African coast, along with about 70,000 others.
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he → cross → others
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crisis → hit → football
thousands of migrants stranded in Ceuta are surviving
At his migrant camp on Trampolin Beach, he queues for hours each day for food at a Red Cross centre.
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he → strand → centre
“I don’t even have a tent,” he told Al Jazeera.
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he → have → Jazeera
“We make shelter with old pieces of wood, sticks from broken branches, and whatever else we find here.
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we → make → whatever
When the wind blows, these makeshift shelters offer little protection, and soon the temperature will dip.
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temperature → blow → protection
“There are a lot of people worse than me,” said Fadi.
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Fadi → be → me
The Spanish government estimates that between 6,000 and 10,000 who made the crossing remain stranded.
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who → estimate → crossing
Officials in Ceuta believe the figure is closer to 13,000 people.
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figure → believe → Ceuta
About 5,000 – mostly women and children – have been given temporary accommodation by the authorities.
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5,000 → give → authorities
The rest sleep outside.
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rest → sleep → ?
Fadi said, as he waits for food in the heat, police officers with batons shout orders at the crowds.
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officers → say → crowds
“It’s a hard life here,” he said, but he does not regret leaving Morocco.
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he → ’ → Morocco
I didn’t see any future for myself.”
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I → see → myself
More than 100 people died in the crossing.
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people → die → crossing
Fadi said he swam for hours to reach Ceuta, believing it was a gateway to Europe, where he imagines a better life awaits.
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life → say → Europe
He believes men like him who “have the skills … don’t have the chance”.
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who → believe → chance
“We are not criminals,” he said, in response to the anti-migration rhetoric and protests that followed the crossing.
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that → say → crossing
“We just want to work.”
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We → want → ?
Right-wing European politicians have framed the Ceuta crossing as a threatening invasion.
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politicians → frame → invasion
In Spain, protests have erupted against the government’s handling of the crisis.
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protests → erupt → crisis
Its population almost doubled at the outset of this crisis.
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population → double → crisis
Though most have returned, the enclave has been struggling to cope with the pressure of hosting those who remain.
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who → return → those
After a new temporary shelter opened up recently, offering space for about 1,700 people, it hit capacity within hours.
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it → open → hours
Claims of abuse
As humanitarian groups struggle to provide basic needs, Nolte Bauer, from Mission Lifeline International, said migrants also feel unsafe.
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migrants → struggle → International
“Outside the official camps there is a lack of basic hygiene,” he said.
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he → be → hygiene
His organisation often receives reports of people being beaten.
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organisation → receive → people
Several people interviewed by Al Jazeera said they had been abused by men in military or police uniforms.
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they → interview → uniforms
Some were wounded, with cuts to the head or bruising around the body.
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Some → wound → body
“These are racist people, these soldiers,” one man who requested anonymity told Al Jazeera.
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who → request → Jazeera
“They found me sleeping and they started to hit me without any reason.
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they → find → reason
They broke one of my hands; they wanted to break the other one.
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they → break → one
They also beat me on my knees.”
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They → beat → knees
Some said they were afraid to go to hospital, fearing they could be deported, and instead sought help from aid groups.
uncertain
they → say → groups
NGO volunteers told Al Jazeera they had treated wounded men.
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they → tell → men
But Spanish authorities rejected any claims of abuse and discrimination, telling Al Jazeera that the police acts “with absolute respect for human rights”.
They say they are expanding accommodation and providing food and medical care while migrants are identified and their cases are processed.
uncertain
cases → reject → food
The government has said the aim is to return to Morocco those who do not have a legal status to remain in Spain, while Ceuta’s leaders have repeatedly called on Madrid and Europe for more support.
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leaders → say → support
The Aporia
