Hundreds of migrant minors stranded in Ceuta after border crisis

Migrant children in Ceuta suffer loss, hunger in hope of a safer life in mainland Europe.Hundreds of unaccompanied minors are stranded in Ceuta in North Africa, following the massive surge of migrants who swam around the border fence with Morocco to reach the Spanish territory.Some of the children are traumatised after witnessing family members drown in the Mediterranean Sea, as tens of thousands left Morocco in search of better opportunities.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How Israel and the European far right tried to exploit Ceutalist 2 of 3Why does Spain have ‘enclaves’ in North Africa?list 3 of 3Migrant deaths in Ceuta rise to 72 after border surge from Moroccoend of listAn estimated 3,000 to 5,000 migrants, of the roughly 60,000 who arrived in Ceuta on Thursday, have avoided expulsion.More than 800 unaccompanied minors are among the remaining migrants and face an uncertain future.A 17-year-old girl from Tangier told the Associated Press she saw Spanish police pulling the body of her eight-year-old brother from the sea when she made it to shore. She was also separated from her mother during the journey.“I saw people stepping on the dead,” she said through a translator. “Now we are children begging on the street.”After finding a government facility for youths in need full, she is now relying on locals for food and shelter.Minors must be cared for under Spanish lawSpanish law says adult migrants can apply for asylum, but the bar is normally set very high for Moroccans to be granted humanitarian protection. If rejected, they will face expulsion procedures.Article 35 of Spain’s 2000 law on foreigners’ rights states that when police identify young children and teenage migrants who are unaccompanied by adults, the minors must be granted protection and receive “immediate attention’ from Spanish child protection services.