Ceuta & Melilla
- Contested territories
- Claimed by Morocco
- Population 82,376 (Ceuta) & 78,476 (Melilla)
- Area 18.5 km² (Ceuta) & 12.3 km² (Melilla)
- Mayor-president Juan Jesús Vivas (Ceuta) & Juan José Imbroda (Melilla)
Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish exclaves on the north coast of Africa, separated from the Spanish mainland by the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. The government of Morocco has repeatedly called for Spain to transfer the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, together with the rest of the Spanish plazas de soberanía on the North African coast to Morocco. Morocco has claimed that the territories are colonies.
Lost Boys in Melilla
Many boys from Morocco try to reach the European continent through the Spanish exclave Melilla. A search for these boys and their dreams in Fez, Melilla, Brussels and the Dutch city of Heerhugowaard. ‘In Europe, you can get 2000 euros a month. I want that too.’ (Article in Dutch)
Koen Greven | 19 Apr 2019