The Gateway to Hell: The Desperate Journey of Tens of Thousands of Migrants to the Small Enclave That Threatens to Change the Face of Europe

For several months, global attention has been focused on Egypt and international shipping routes, from the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab el-Mandeb. However, what has been occupying Europe in recent days is a completely different strait, Gibraltar. This time it is not about goods, oil, or the interests of great powers, but about people — those who see this meeting point as the exit from hell and the only gateway to a normal life.

We arrived in Ceuta by ferry and immediately boarded a boat to see up close where it all began. Our guide is Elias, an Israeli who has lived here for 35 years and knows every rock on the coast. Together with his friend Nacho, he tries to explain to us the crazy reality happening right under the noses of the tourists.

Already at the beginning of the voyage, we get our first glimpse of the drama. Among the rocks and cliffs, one can spot figures hiding. "Everything here is migrants hiding," explains Elias, pointing to cave entrances and thickets of vegetation. They are afraid of the local police, afraid that they will be returned to Morocco. On the beach, a group of young people sit, having set up a kind of makeshift barbershop among the rocks, trying to maintain their human dignity even while sleeping under the open sky.

"We arrived from Morocco last Thursday," one of them says while his friend cuts his hair. "We crossed the border by swimming. We don't want to stay in Morocco, and not in Ceuta either; the goal is to reach deep into Europe. 12 kilometers of risk between life and death." The story of these migrants is a story of deep despair. "In Morocco, we have no rights, no health services, and no education. We have nothing there," says the young Moroccan man with pain. When we ask what will happen if they are deported, his answer is firm: "We will return. It is the easiest thing in the world to return here by swimming through the sea. We are simply demanding rights." A moment before we part, one of them suddenly raises a Palestinian flag and shouts, "Free Palestine." Elias whispers to us immediately: don't tell them you are from Israel, it's not worth it.

Europe's migrant problem, the one that shakes governments and stirs the conservative right on the continent, drains into one small bottleneck. It is the physical border between Morocco and Spain in the Ceuta enclave. To the left is Morocco, to the right is Spain, and between them is a fence and a water canal. Just last week, tens of thousands of people arrived here. According to Spanish authorities, over 70,000 people tried to cross the border in one wave. Some swam from the Moroccan side to the Spanish side, others climbed over the fences. This influx washed over Spain and left the authorities helpless.

"On Thursday there was a mass escape," another migrant we met on the beach tells us. "It wasn't planned. We just heard rumors and WhatsApp messages circulating on phones that the border to Ceuta was breached. As soon as we heard that, we ran. We wanted to change our lives." He describes the arduous journey to get here: "I crossed by swimming. It's about 12 or 13 kilometers in the open sea. This journey takes a heavy toll in blood." In Morocco, they report 141 dead on both sides of the border during the last breach — people who were trampled in the crowd or drowned in the water. Even two weeks after the event, one can still see evidence floating on the water.

"Of course, there was danger in swimming, it's part of the deal," says another migrant. "In the sea, there is always a risk between life and death. One foot here and one foot there, fifty-fifty. But we put our trust in God and hoped for the best. We see death all the time in Morocco, we see death while we are still alive. Therefore, even when I sleep here on the street in Ceuta, I am at peace."