In Ceuta, migrants stranded at Europe’s gates await their fate

From a distance, the reed huts lined up on a beach in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, appear part of an idyllic summer vacation scene. Sounds of laughter occasionally rise above the background swish of the sea and the smoke rising from tents on an August weekend could well be coming from beach barbecues. But upon approach, a completely different scene unfolds. Tattered clothes flap in the sea breeze while their owners, barefoot and exhausted from long journeys, hang around the beach. No one here is on a seaside vacation. They are part of an estimated 2,000 to 5,000 migrants who remain after a late-July surge that saw more than 70,000 people cross the border between Morocco and Ceuta. The vast majority voluntarily chose to return home in the following days. For those who opted to stay, it’s been more than two weeks of milling around a strip of coastline while awaiting a legal decision. They all have their own stories, their own hopes, their own dreams. But for now, they’ve all ended up on the same beach: El Trampolin. Migrants lie on the sand of El Trampolín beach in Ceuta on August 15, 2026. © Hamza HABHOUB One of the most striking things about this gathering on the beach...