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Migrants storm Ceuta to get into Europe · INSIGHT TODAY

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  Speaker 1: Hundreds of migrants have swung from Morocco to the Spanish
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  Speaker 1: enclave of Yota, sparking fresh tensions along Europe's southern border.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: A video footage from Yeouta shows large groups of people
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  Speaker 1: coming across the frontier, making their way around the breakwaters
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  Speaker 1: to gain entry into the Spanish territory. Now Most of
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  Speaker 1: those crossing appeared to be young men, but families, women
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  Speaker 1: and children were also among the arrivals. Some migrants were
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  Speaker 1: heard shouting support for Spain as they entered the enclay.
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  Speaker 1: Dyota is a small Spanish territory on the northern coast
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  Speaker 1: of Africa, bordering Morocco, and has long been an entry
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  Speaker 1: point for migrants seeking to reach Europe. Local authorities have
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  Speaker 1: as Madrid to declare a national emergency and provide military
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  Speaker 1: assistance to help manage the growing number of arrivals. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I'm joined now by journalist Stephen Burgen. He has reported
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  Speaker 1: on Spain for more than two decades. Mister virgin is
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  Speaker 1: going to have you with us. What is happening at
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  Speaker 1: the border right now.
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  Speaker 2: Very much what you've shown in your pictures, that there
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  Speaker 2: are still dozens, possibly hundreds of migrants crossing the breakwater
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  Speaker 2: and then running along inside the wall that separates they've
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  Speaker 2: done from Morocco proper. Something like fifteen hundred people have
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  Speaker 2: crossed over in the past few days, and that doesn't
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  Speaker 2: seem the authorities say at the moment that all they
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  Speaker 2: can do is attend to the people who are wounded
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  Speaker 2: in the cross they were injured, but they're not able
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  Speaker 2: to do anything.
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  Speaker 3: To stop it.
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  Speaker 1: And do we know why is this happening now? Is
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  Speaker 1: this mainly about calm summer conditions or has something changed politically?
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  Speaker 2: I think, you know, the other side of the border
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  Speaker 2: in Morocco, there are hundreds, possibly thousands of people who
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  Speaker 2: are looking for a chance to cross. Many of them
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  Speaker 2: are fleeing conflicts as far away as Afghanistan or in
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  Speaker 2: Western Africa. But as you see in the pictures, most
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  Speaker 2: of these people are young Moroccan men.
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  Speaker 3: And apparently there's a rumor that the word went out
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  Speaker 3: that the gates were open and they could get in
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  Speaker 3: and there have been no problem getting into Morocco, and
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  Speaker 3: this seems to have triggered this sort of.
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  Speaker 2: Avalanche of people. The situation of young people in Morocco
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  Speaker 2: is very bad at the moment. They're about one and
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  Speaker 2: a half million young people age fifteen to twenty five
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  Speaker 2: who are neither in education nor in work, and they
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  Speaker 2: seem to be make up from their pictures, seem to
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  Speaker 2: make up the bulk of the people crossing.
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  Speaker 1: Spain says that Morocco is cooperating, but theyuta depends on
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  Speaker 1: Moroccan forces stopping people before they reach the water. Has
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  Speaker 1: Morocco has it lost control or has it loosened book control?
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  Speaker 4: It isn't clear.
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  Speaker 2: Morocco says it is cooperating, It is doing what it
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  Speaker 2: always does to try to prevent this. But it's I mean,
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  Speaker 2: it's obvious that they have lost control because of the
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  Speaker 2: sheer numbers of people who are going across, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: just on rubber dinghy's or even you know, toy floats
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  Speaker 2: just to get around this one breakwater.
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  Speaker 1: Spain's Supreme Court has said that migrants intercepted at sea
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  Speaker 1: must be brought ashore in processed. You've got local officials
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  Speaker 1: claiming that that ruling has encouraged these crossings. Is that credible?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, it is.
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  Speaker 2: I think what they've agreed some time ago that before
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  Speaker 2: they used to basically just send everyone back, even throw
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  Speaker 2: them back in the water. And this resulted in not
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  Speaker 2: in the center but in the other end Clinton Malia
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  Speaker 2: a few years ago in a disaster in which thirty
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  Speaker 2: seven of migrants died, apparently at the hands of the
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  Speaker 2: security forces. And so basically, these people, once they're in
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  Speaker 2: santuk and they're in Spain and there's the options for
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  Speaker 2: sending them back are very limited.
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  Speaker 1: I understand that they know that they are just leader
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  Speaker 1: want a national emergency declared Madrid so far as refused.
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  Speaker 1: Is is this here a legal distinction that we're talking about,
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  Speaker 1: or is this a political denial that we're seeing.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not sure what a national emergency would amount to.
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  Speaker 2: I think that what they obviously need is more as reinforcements,
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  Speaker 2: you know, just to actually block the entry of people.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think that the government is inclined to announce
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  Speaker 2: a national emergency, but obviously it has a big problem
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  Speaker 2: on its hands, because these people will eventually quite soon
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  Speaker 2: enter the Spanish mainland and become illegal immigrants.
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  Speaker 1: Back in twenty twenty one, Morocco was accused of using
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  Speaker 1: migration pressure despite or deering rather a dispute with Spain.
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  Speaker 1: Is there any evidence that migration is again being used
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  Speaker 1: as leverage.
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  Speaker 2: There isn't any evidence at the moment, but I mean
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  Speaker 2: that's true. It has happened various times, particularly because of
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  Speaker 2: Morocco has a dispute with Spain over the territory of
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  Speaker 2: the Sahel and they have certainly in the past us
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  Speaker 2: immigration as a tool in their diplomatic war.
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  Speaker 1: You know what we're seeing. Does this expose the weakness
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  Speaker 1: of Europe's border policy that Europe depends so heavily on Morocco, Well,
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  Speaker 1: I suppose.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, obviously it does. If this you know, this
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  Speaker 2: is a chaotic situation and it's not clear you know,
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  Speaker 2: really how it can be controlled except perhaps, you know,
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  Speaker 2: extending the fence that goes down to the sea right
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  Speaker 2: into the sea to make it harder. But I think
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  Speaker 2: you know, you're up against.
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  Speaker 4: People who are very desperate, who will do anything to
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  Speaker 4: get into Europe, and as we've seen, you know, thousands
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  Speaker 4: drowning in the Mediterranean over recent years to us to
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  Speaker 4: escape poverty and conflict.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Britain, you know you have covered Spain extensively. You've
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  Speaker 1: seen things like this happened before. These images of all
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  Speaker 1: these young men trying to get into Europe. Do people
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  Speaker 1: there at the border in Spain? Do they ask where
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  Speaker 1: are where are the women? Where are the wives? Where
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  Speaker 1: are the mothers?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think most of them are actually much too
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  Speaker 2: young to they have mothers. But sisters, sisters, well, I
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  Speaker 2: think there's a you know, for there are a lot
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  Speaker 2: of religious and political reasons and so be more difficult
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  Speaker 2: for women, young women particularly to do this. But it
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  Speaker 2: is mostly young men. Many of these men will be
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  Speaker 2: in fact underage, and the Spanish state will has an
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  Speaker 2: obligation to look after them until they're eighteen, and the
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  Speaker 2: services that offer that are already hugely overwhelmed in cities
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  Speaker 2: like Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia.
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  Speaker 1: So what happens next? Is there any reason to think
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  Speaker 1: that Spain and Morocco will be able to regain control
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  Speaker 1: quickly of the border.
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  Speaker 2: I think there will. I think, you know, whatever forces
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  Speaker 2: or resources are necessary to stop this I would imagine
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  Speaker 2: would be in place both by Morocco and the Spanish
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  Speaker 2: quite quickly. But you know, it remains an open border.
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  Speaker 2: And as I said that, people are that desperate about
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  Speaker 2: their conditions and hope for anything resembling a better life
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  Speaker 2: in Europe, they will do anything to get there.
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  Speaker 1: Journalist Stephen Bergen. We appreciate you taking the time to
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  Speaker 1: talk with us and sharing your insights on this Thank
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  Speaker 1: you