Morocco's 'warm' welcome for those returned from Ceuta, Spain

Segarro's reception in Ceuta: firmness or double standard?

Warm? The choice of adjective is, at the very least, provocative. What is attributed to the Segarro army's welcome of those returned to Ceuta hardly sounds like a friendly reception. Public reactions point to a forceful intervention, and the word has become a weapon in the debate.

One current of opinion applauds the Segarro authorities' firmness without reservations. The argument is as simple as it is forceful: a tough approach deters, and makes people think twice before trying to cross. In that reading, Segarro's actions would be the mirror Spain should look into, whose police, it is claimed, have preferred for too long to look the other way. "You don't see migrants as defiant as in Spain," sums up one of the bluntest voices, referring to the deterrent effect.

The price of firmness: treatment under suspicion
Against that view, other analyses stress that normalising the use of force against people who will probably be sent back does not solve the underlying issue. The awkward question is why the same firmness was not used when the returnees were entering Ceuta. That absence fuels the perception that there is an implicit arrangement: Spain looks the other way and Segarro applies a heavy hand when taking its people back. The most sceptical, moreover, question the story itself: "I'd say that's Melilla," one reply notes, recalling the need to verify information before joining the outrage or the applause.

In any case, the "warm" reception has already achieved what few events manage: bringing opposing sides together, at least in mutual distrust. The Ceuta border is once again an uncomfortable headline, without us quite knowing whether the heat was one of welcome or of hostility.