Evangelicals in the Spanish territory of Ceuta are attempting to serve both their own communities and an influx of illegal migrants after tens of thousands of people crossed into the territory in the last two days of July.
Tens of thousands of migrants attempted to illegally enter the territory from Morocco, many by swimming around the border fence.
Spanish authorities believe the number of illegal entrants to be around 80,000, most of whom have been returned already. The normal population of Ceuta is around 85,000.
Morocco has been accused of deliberately relaxing controls on its side of the border in order to exert political pressure on Spain, while maintaining plausible deniability.
Similar accusations were levelled against the late Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, who demanded concessions from European leaders in exchange for his cooperation in preventing illegal migration from Libya. Since the fall of Gaddafi and his government in 2011, Libya has become a major transit point for migrants attempting to reach Europe.
The Ceuta crisis came just weeks after Spain's Supreme Court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to swim into Ceuta or Melilla could not be summarily returned to Morocco, but could only be returned through the normal deportation process.
In response to the crisis in Ceuta, evangelicals are attempting to provide the remaining migrants with both material and spiritual aid.
Javier Santolaria, pastor of Casa de Alabanza told Evangelical Focus that he was part of efforts to provide food to remaining migrants, of whom there are still “thousands”.
As well as food, the migrants have been provided with Scriptures in Arabic.
“They spend many hours with nothing to do. We hope that the Lord will be able to touch many lives,” Pastor Santolaria said.
It is not only the migrants that the churches have been tending to. Pastor Santolaria said that on the Sunday following the mass-migration incident, his church met online rather than in person, due to safety concerns.
“Just imagine: in five or six hours, more than 70,000 people have entered your city, which has a population of 85,000. You’re left in shock," he said.
The influx of migrants, and indeed the threat of it, has placed greater pressure on public services like the police, hospitals and schools. Locals have already protested at plans to convert two schools to accommodate unaccompanied minors.
Pastor Santolaria said, “We ask you to continue praying for us, because it’s not easy. Everything that has happened adds to our daily chores and worries, and we need strength and to see the hand of God at work.”
