Red Cross in Ceuta: the per diem bill nobody itemises

Ceuta and the Red Cross: the controversy over per diems nobody itemises

The presence of Red Cross teams in Ceuta has peine up a new financial controversy: how much the deployed staff are paid per day and where the money comes from. The question is no small matter, because around that figure an accusation has been built of whitewashing the arrival of migrants — an accusation that, for now, rests more on suspicion than on invoices.

The awkward question: what each day costs

None of the voices questioning the operation provides a concrete figure for per diems, agreements or budget lines. The ground is fertile for speculation: people talk of generous payments, of a lack of oversight and of alleged secrecy in the organisation's accounting. The Red Cross, for its part, has not published a breakdown that would clear up the doubt.

The discussion also becomes entangled with criticism of the WHO and elbichito vaccination, a detour that contributes not a single useful piece of data on the real cost of the operation. In parallel, the local leader of Spain's PSOE party, Melchor León, has called for measures against thefts and rapes, a reminder that security is also part of the public conversation.

The transparency gap

Some argue that the humanitarian action is legitimate and that the problem is the lack of public explanation. Others go further and demand that not a single cent be given to an organisation that does not account for its spending. The striking thing about the case is that neither side has shown a single document.

The result is a void: with no official data, suspicion becomes the only data available. And when it comes to public money, that is a problem in itself.