The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, announced this Friday in Congress an increase of up to 44.5 million euros to sustain and expand humanitarian aid in Ceuta, following the irregular entry of “around 72,000” migrants from Morocco on July 30 and 31. She also urged not to forget that behind the numbers there are “stories of suffering” and “dozens of deaths” during border crossings.
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Saiz appeared before the Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Commission of Congress to detail her department’s management of this migration crisis and assured that the ministry has worked “from the first moment” so that the costs arising from this situation can be financed through the European Union’s extraordinary aid mechanisms linked to migration and asylum.
“I want to insist on this point because, contrary to what has been spread in recent weeks, the Government of Spain requested this aid from Europe from the very beginning,” she emphasized. “What has existed is a process of joint work and permanent technical dialogue with the European Commission to ensure that the request was formalized with all guarantees,” she clarified.
Migration works for the EU to finance crisis management through an extraordinary mechanism
In her speech, the government spokesperson also defended the “extraordinary” response of the Executive, “from legality and humanity,” in the face of a situation of “exceptional magnitude” like what happened in Ceuta. “There is no contradiction between security and humanity. There is no contradiction between protecting borders and helping those in need. There is no contradiction between the firmness of the State and the dignity of people,” she said.
“The protection of borders and the orderly management of migratory flows are non-negotiable responsibilities of the State,” but so are “respect for human rights, the protection of minors” and “the fulfillment of all commitments assumed by our country within the framework of the European Union,” she stressed.
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Saiz thanked the work of social entities, especially the Red Cross, as well as the State security forces and health professionals, and praised the behavior of Ceuta’s society, which she described as “an example of coexistence, solidarity, serenity” and asked that the Red Cross volunteers distributing food and water on El Trampolín beach not be “threatened” or “intimidated” following incidents that forced the interruption of this work.
According to the data provided, as of August 27, 93,650 food kits have been distributed between Trampolín beach and other locations in the autonomous city, as well as 1,396 female hygiene kits and 2,150 male hygiene kits. “Each food ration distributed, each bottle of water, each carton of milk, not only meets a basic need that guarantees human dignity, but also benefits all the neighbors of Ceuta and helps guarantee coexistence and social peace in the streets,” she highlighted. “Imagine what would happen if those who are hungry and thirsty could not access these resources and had to obtain them in another way,” said the head of Migration.
The minister called for the collaboration of all administrations in this crisis, and assured that through the declaration of emergency of her ministry—approved on August 3 for an amount of 6.43 million euros to strengthen humanitarian aid and now increased to 44.5 million—and the request for aid from the EU, the Government is carrying out all essential actions in Ceuta, such as the implementation of temporary accommodations, food, health care, translation, adaptation works, and the necessary basic equipment.
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