Migrants streamed back across the border into Morocco in small groups after spending two or three days in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, wandering the streets with almost nothing to eat, and little welcome.
On Saturday morning, Spanish soldiers and Civil Guard officers directed a steady flow of people — mostly very young men — toward the exit at the border crossing.
Some were barefoot, others had Red Cross blankets draped over their shoulders. Many were visibly exhausted after days of wandering around the town.
"I'm leaving because there's no food. I thought I'd be welcomed, but that wasn't the case at all," said 23-year-old Abdel Latif before crossing back over the border.
He had tried his luck to "find work" because "there are no jobs in Morocco", lamented the young man. He survives by doing odd jobs as a mechanic.
Latif was one of as many as 60,000 migrants who crossed into Ceuta, mostly swimming around the small border post that juts into the Mediterranean Sea, in an unprecedented surge that prompted an international crisis for Spain and questions about immigration.
A few intrepid young men still attempted to reach the enclave by swimming on Saturday.
Two men collapsed on the sand in plain view of the soldiers, exhausted from their sea crossing. One of them, severely weakened, had to be attended to by Red Cross rescuers, wrapping him in blankets — despite the heat — before taking him away on a stretcher.
A soldier was ushering another man toward the exit, his still-soaked clothes bore witness to his recent arrival.
Further along, another man attempting to swim across was picked up by a Spanish Civil Guard boat and then taken back toward Morocco.
Around 60,000 migrants arrived over the course of two or three days, according to an estimate by the head of the local government, Juan Jesus Vivas.
The Spanish Interior Ministry, meanwhile, puts the figure at 50,000 people.
At least 67 of them died while attempting to swim to Ceuta, according to Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who lamented these "sad, dramatic events."
"Almost all" of those who entered the enclave in recent days have returned to Morocco, according to the Spanish government.
Ceuta — a small territory of 84,000 inhabitants located at the northern tip of Morocco and bordering the Strait of Gibraltar — forms one of the two land borders between Africa and Europe, along with Melilla.
