Ceuta crisis explodes as children sleep rough

No toilets. No shelter. Little protection. In Spain's Ceuta enclave, thousands of unaccompanied minors are reportedly living on the streets, with some sleeping in makeshift cardboard tents under dirty blankets.

At the Tarajal industrial park, the scale of the crisis is stark. Estimates suggest between 3,000 and 5,000 unaccompanied minors could be in Ceuta, while overcrowded reception facilities are unable to accommodate them all.

Amina, a 14-year-old Moroccan girl, is among those caught in the crisis. She and her brother were among the 80,000 people who crossed from Morocco into Spain in late July, with around 9,000 still in Ceuta, according to local authorities.

"What's worst is that we don't have toilets," Amina told DW. "We have to go somewhere in the bushes, but I don't dare go alone."

The dangers are particularly acute for girls. Police are investigating at least 15 suspected rape cases after a sharp rise in reported sexual assaults over the past week, while local authorities suspect the true figure could be considerably higher.

Malika, a Moroccan mother of four, said she had travelled after earning the equivalent of just €7 ($8) a day as a cleaner in Morocco. She said she could not afford school books or decent clothes for her children.

Then one of her children became seriously ill with a high fever. Unable to find medical help, Malika resorted to making compresses with water and vinegar.

Now she fears for her 12- and 14-year-old daughters. The growing number of reported assaults has left her particularly worried about their safety.

Emergency doctor Susana Ascaso said she had treated several young girls in recent days. One 12-year-old arrived terrified and in tears after saying other migrants had harassed and touched her inappropriately.

Ascaso warned that girls under 18 were "particularly at risk". She also pointed to the major imbalance between male and female migrants, saying it did not help the situation.

The pressure has triggered demands for action from Ceuta's politicians. Regional health and social affairs minister Nabila Benzina described the crisis as the "worst moment in Ceuta's history" and called for more police to protect young women and the wider population.

Ceuta president Juan Jesus Vivas described a "high-risk situation". He said services were struggling and claimed the city was "5,000% over capacity" when it came to minors, meaning nobody could look after them adequately.

Madrid has announced plans to transfer unaccompanied minors to mainland Spain, but there is no concrete timetable. Several regions where the far-right Vox party is part of the government have said they refuse to accept migrants.

Vivas said minors should be reunited with their families or that Moroccan social services should take responsibility. He said Madrid should begin the appropriate legal proceedings.

But many children say they do not want to return. Seven-year-old Ibrahim, from Sudan, said he would keep going to secure "a better life for his parents back home".

Amina is equally determined. Despite the harsh conditions, she says she wants a different future and dreams of becoming an architect.

No toilets, no shelter, little protection. In Ceuta, DW finds thousands of minors living alone on the streets