How Spain's migrant crisis created a political storm - whipped up by social media
BBC News – World
bbc.co.uk
Summary
Watch: Migrants started to return to Morocco after thousands entered Spain's Ceuta on 30 July Most of the tens of thousands of migrants who swam into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on Thursday have now returned to Morocco, escorted to the border by Spanish soldiers and police. But the extraordinary surge of arrivals has left at least 67 people dead, their bodies pulled from the sea where they floated alongside abandoned rubber rings and flippers. This week's events have also shaken Europe politically, once again exposing divisions over the sensitive issue of migration. And they've left lingering questions about what sparked the sudden influx: whether social media posts promising an easy path to Europe just went viral or this was something more deliberate, even organised. Whatever the cause, Spain's socialist prime minister is angry with the response. Pedro Sanchez has hit out at some in the EU for "attacking" Spain in this crisis, playing politics instead of showing support. But she faces elections next year with her coalition losing ground to a new and virulently anti-immigrant party. Sanchez himself points instead to a recent ruling by Spain's Supreme Court: it said those who enter by sea cannot be pushed back immediately. But its border guards must have seen the crowds building. It is extending the border fence out to sea, attaching long lines of orange buoys to the jetty which ships will then patrol to deter future swimmers.
From the source
The Ceuta crossings have shaken Europe politically, exposing divisions over the sensitive issue of migration, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford writes.
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Published by BBC News – World on bbc.co.uk
