Since this Friday afternoon, coinciding with the first day of July, the Operation Crossing the Strait (OPE) as it passes through Ceuta has notably increased the number of vehicles and people who have embarked from Algeciras to the city of Ceuta to cross the border with Morocco. Thousands of people and hundreds of vehicles, after traveling the distance from the port when leaving the ferry, have to wait in queues of up to 9 hours on the esplanade set up in the Loma Colmenar neighborhood as a parking lot to avoid traffic jams on the access road to the Tarajal Customs.
These people, mostly Moroccan emigrants from various European countries who cross the Iberian Peninsula every year to spend the summer holidays in their native country. Ceuta residents of the city who also cross to visit their relatives on the other side or to spend the weekend in the neighboring country are also mixed.
This year, Eid al-Adha, the Passover of the sacrifice, coincides with the beginning of the summer holidays, so traffic figures may skyrocket in the coming hours. Travelers after the long journey do not understand how they find themselves blocked when they arrive in Ceuta in the pocketing, a place that does not offer basic services such as a simple store or point where you can buy hot or cold drinks, food, or even adequate services to welcome so many people with dignity.
The Red Cross of Ceuta has also not made an appearance so far, something that the travelers themselves miss. In the return device they have always been activated in the area to provide social and health service to the organized device.
The neighbors near the esplanade, annoyed by the noise of the horns, despite the lack of rest in the face of noise and demonstrations, also come down to offer help and even offer them their houses so that they can use the toilets, since only there are 8 booths enabled and as confirmed by the users themselves, they are not even clean. Faced with this situation, protests have also arisen spontaneously, since there are families with small children who are desperate. The neighbors have been able to understand the situation and have come to help these people.
Well-informed sources confirm to this medium that the delays are taking place due to the “meticulous” controls by the Moroccan customs authorities and for ensuring that the sanitary measures imposed by the Alawite government are scrupulously complied with; that is, check the Covid passports of each traveler at the health control point at the Bab Septa customs entrance.
Meanwhile, the political parties in opposition to the Vivas government have come out to denounce this situation. The different formations have described as “disaster” and “embarrassment” the management of Operation Crossing the Straits after seeing in situ the pocketing area of Loma Colmenar. They denounce the lack of health care, social services, and “with only the appearance of the Police when that threatened to overflow and become an even more serious problem”, lamented the deputy of the Assembly Mohamed Mustafa of Ceuta Now!. Something that since training they do not understand because, they say, they have had two years to prepare due to the stoppage due to the pandemic.
The PSOE of Ceuta has come forward to demand that the Government of the City authorize “urgently” the installation of food and beverage points of sale, as well as denouncing the lack of foresight of the local Executive despite the figures that after two years in white pointed the OPE.
From the Government Delegation they value what is happening positively, since they point out that in the first phase of the OPE the arrival of vehicles to the autonomous city has increased by 45%, although they announce that the CECOP, the operational center in charge of the management of the OPE is taking measures such as the opening of new emergency bagging areas in the extension of the Poniente dock, in the port of Ceuta, as stated in the protocol of the Provincial Plan, the activation of extra resources by of all the operating groups, as well as the adaptation of the schedules and slots of the different lanes and at the request of the operation, are part of the decisions that are being made in real time to face the challenges of this Operation Crossing the Strait.
From the communication office of INGESA, the central government agency that manages health, it assures that the Emergency Coordination Center has received several calls and that two ambulances have had to travel to the esplanade of the bagging to attend to some people who have required help. medical.
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