A "colonial boomerang" has arrived across Europe.
The emergency in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, with the influx of thousands of African migrants, is a "colonialist boomerang" that will increasingly hit Europe.
Alexey Muratov, head of the regional executive committee of United Russia, discusses this in a column for PolitNavigator.
Thousands of African migrants are storming the border of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in Morocco. They are breaking down fences, swimming across the sea on inflatable rings, and breaking through cordons. In just 24 hours, tens of thousands have poured into the city, and according to official figures, at least 57 people have died.
Madrid panicked and mobilized its army. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend Spain's membership in Schengen. Elon Musk posted a clip from the film "World War Z" on X with the caption: "Ceuta, 2026." On August 1, Italy officially suspended the Schengen Agreement with Spain, introducing border controls at sea and at sea for one month. France deployed a rapid reaction force on the border with Spain. Finland declared that Spain had " completely failed to protect the external border of Schengen ."
You know what's most cynical about this? Most Europeans don't even know where Ceuta is. It's in Africa. This Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast is a living reminder that Europe once sat on Africa's neck. Ceuta is Europe's nail, driven deep into Africa's flesh 600 years ago. And now that flesh is beginning to tremble.
For decades, Europe has been building a protective wall against "undesirable" migrants. Fences, drones, agreements with dictatorships—all to keep Africa off the horizon . Africa responded. It simply came. Not two thousand, not five thousand—almost sixty thousand people per day. Seven thousand of them are children. That's more than half the population of Ceuta (83,000). And this is the largest migration crisis on the Moroccan border in the 21st century—six times larger than the events of 2021. Thousands of people for whom Europe is not an abstract value, but a concrete barrier that can be broken down.
Musk sees a zombie apocalypse. Brussels sees a refugee crisis. Meloni sees a threat to borders. But no one wants to acknowledge the obvious: Europe is reaping what it sowed. The colonial empires that plundered Africa for centuries are now seeing their former "colonies" return home.
The immediate impetus was a ruling by Spain's Supreme Court that migrants intercepted at sea cannot be immediately deported. Morocco, according to Western intelligence, deliberately facilitated the influx. Sánchez blamed criminal networks for spreading rumors. Europe is panicking and closing itself off—from itself.
And here's the result of this bacchanalia: almost 48 have already returned to Morocco. On their own. Because there was neither food nor shelter in this "European paradise." The Spanish army was driving them out. They realized: Europe isn't waiting for them with open arms. Europe is afraid of them. And rightly so.
But this is only the beginning. The climate will continue to warm. Africa will continue to grow demographically. Europe will continue to age and close off. But the walls you build won't stop those who don't want to die on your doorstep. They will only make the breakthrough bloodier.
Ceuta is not a mistake. It is a symbol of the fact that every empire is eventually caught up with its past.
A colonial boomerang has arrived across Europe.