Fatima succeeded in swimming to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in Morocco, escaping Guardia Civil patrols who at night retrieve the lifesavers of migrants who don't survive the crossing.

The woman, 32, made it at the beginning of August and was able to give birth on Spanish territory. Mother and baby are currently staying at a temporary hosting center for migrants in the autonomous city.

"I wanted my son to be born in Europe," the young woman told TVE television, holding her baby who was just 15 days old.

"I wasn't afraid to die, I knew we would make it. I will now ask for my family to join me," said Fatima.

Hicham, the child's father of Moroccan origin, was next to her. He was able to join her and the baby on August 25 after swimming to the beach of Tarajal in Ceuta together with some 1,500 others who in just one day tried to cross into the enclave by taking advantage of the fog and favorable conditions of the sea.

Hicham was in a rush to arrive because his son had been born two days before. When he reached the beach, he mingled with others without being pushed back after being forced to return home four times before. And he rushed to the local police precinct to get registered.

Also read: Ceuta: Six people arrested over social media posts 'encouraging' migration

'We wanted our son to be born in Europe'

The story of Fatima and Hicham is one of resistance: they said they met on Facebook and got married unbeknownst to everyone, to then move two years ago to Castillejo, on the Moroccan side of the border, while waiting for the right time to cross into Spain.

"I wanted my son to be born here because there are rights and good things for him," repeated Fatima, who received medical assistance and the aid necessary for her child at the hosting facility.

Hicham, instead, is sleeping on the street, because the hosting centre is full, overcrowded like the other facility opened by the local government in a warehouse in the industrial area of Tarajal to deal with constant migrant flows from North Africa.

Also read: Ceuta authorities sound alarm after hundreds of migrants swim into Spanish enclave

Main emergency concerns migrant children

Spain has become the main door to Europe not only for migrants of Moroccan and Algerian origin but also for thousands of people from sub-Saharan Africa who are fleeing Mali and other conflict areas in the African continent.

The main emergency concerns migrant children and teens who are placed under the care of the local administration. Over 520 have reached the enclave since the beginning of the year, most of them by swimming to the coast -- six times the figure reported over the same period in 2023 -- of whom 300 in August, according to data released by the government of the autonomous city.

President Juan Viva has appealed to the national government and the EU saying it is impossible to manage the chronic humanitarian emergency alone.

Premier Pedro Sanchez last week carried out a tour of three countries at the origin of migration flows -- Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal -- to forge cooperation agreements on security, border controls and the fight against human trafficking criminal gangs as well as agreements for an orderly and controlled migration with temporary contracts in Spain provided to migrants when they are still in their home country and an agreement on their return home afterward.

However, given it is not possible to quickly transfer underage migrant minors from Ceuta to other Spanish regions, the local government is calling for more funding. And it is working on agreements with regions including Andalusia and Estremadura to provisionally transfer minors maintaining their legal protection.

Also read: Swimming to Ceuta: Moroccan youth document their crossing on TikTok