By Abigail Anthony
Friday, July 321, 2026
Chaos is erupting in Ceuta, a small Spanish autonomous
city and exclave on the northern coast of Africa. Ceuta had a population of
about 85,000 — until yesterday, when an estimated 60,000 “migrants” (read: invaders)
from Morocco stormed the coast. The Spanish Supreme Court decided earlier this
month that migrants arriving by sea in Ceuta (and another Spanish exclave,
Melilla) cannot be immediately kicked out without due process. In other words,
people saw a loophole and exploited it.
I have exactly zero expertise in Spanish politics and
law. I also lack any “insider” knowledge; I don’t have a single source in
Spain, and certainly not someone witnessing the events unfold in Ceuta. I won’t
pretend to know something that I don’t know; I’m at the mercy of what has been
presented in the media and social platforms.
Still, I want to share a few observations — and fears.
First, I noticed that almost all the newcomers in the
images and footage I’ve seen are fit and able men. The sole exception I’ve seen
is one video that shows a handful of women in hijabs walking
casually; I haven’t seen any young children, although some of the males might
be teenagers. This demographic detail, coupled with the sheer number of them,
means that three army divisions — nearly the size of the residing population,
and more than the adult population — arrived in Ceuta without warning.
Second, those who have spoken to media outlets have
explained that they are not fleeing persecution. They are motivated by the
riches of Europe, and they just couldn’t be bothered to seek relocation through
legal routes because they conceive of access to Europe as some natural human
right. “I don’t want to live in Morocco, I want to live in Europe,” Zakaria
Lahmer, 23, told the New York Times. He added, “I want a job, I
want happiness.” A 33-year-old man, Ahmed Karim, told ABC News that “many people want to go to Europe,
America, but they don’t have the opportunity.”
Third, the newcomers immediately proved exactly
why they should not be welcomed: They trashed
the shore, torched
vehicles, looted
stores, destroyed property, broke
into homes, threw
stones at authorities, and assaulted
locals. You can distinguish the invaders from the locals because the former
are walking around with katanas.
Fourth, this is exactly what right-wingers warned would
happen under lenient immigration laws and accommodating “asylum” or “refugee”
policies. But our concerns and arguments were summarily dismissed as “racist,”
“xenophobic,” and “white supremacist.”
Fifth, I’m not sure we would have heard about this
catastrophe without Musk-owned Twitter/X. I suspect, somewhat conspiratorially,
that the right-wing outrage about the invasion prompted large outlets to cover
it. In an alternative hypothetical world where Musk’s Twitter/X doesn’t exist,
it is possible that the mainstream Western media would have eventually
mentioned the story, but I suspect the journalists would have sanitized the
details, in part because they are currently describing the events as delicately
as possible. Consider this Associated Press headline: “60,000 migrants crossed into Spanish territory of Ceuta, but
many soon left voluntarily.” If you scroll through the stories in major
outlets, you’ll see images of the migrants standing around or swimming with
floats, rather than causing destruction. (Some articles don’t have any images
whatsoever.) The media’s photographic strategy is to focus on the migrants arriving
and entering without any regard to what they’re doing on land. Put
simply, mainstream outlets are talking about Ceuta because they have to, and
they’re attempting to placate the public with underwhelming photos of people
swimming.
Sixth, Democrats will enable and encourage exactly this
type of invasion the moment they next seize power. We know this because of what
occurred — and was celebrated — under Joe Biden; the more recent anti-ICE
demonstrations are further confirmation. This is among the many reasons why they
should never win again.
No comments:
Post a Comment