A group of Malian migrants staying at the Costa Blanca Explorer hotel, located in the former Marist seminary in Guardamar del Segura, staged a protest on Monday morning over what they say are excessive delays in the processing of their immigration paperwork.
The protest began at around 8:30 a.m. outside the hotel, where the group initially blocked access to staff from Fundación Cepaim, the NGO responsible for monitoring their situation and assisting with administrative procedures in Spain.
Officers from the Guardia Civil, the Guardia Civil Citizen Security Unit and Guardamar Local Police were sent to the scene to prevent the situation from escalating and to keep access to the centre open.
According to Guardamar mayor José Luis Sáez, the protesters also intended to walk along the N-332 towards Guardamar town centre, as other migrant groups have done in the past, in order to draw attention to their situation and call on the authorities to speed up the regularisation process.
The N-332 is one of the busiest roads in the area, with more than 25,000 vehicles using this stretch every day. To avoid a potential safety risk, Guardia Civil officers negotiated with representatives of the group. The migrants eventually agreed not to march along the road and allowed NGO staff to enter the centre.
Around 300 Migrants Housed at Former Seminary
The Costa Blanca Explorer hotel, based at the former Marist seminary near the southern access road to La Marina, currently houses around 300 migrants. The number and nationality of residents have varied since the reception programme began in mid-2023, following the transfer of migrants from the Canary Islands to mainland Spain.
Most of those currently staying at the centre are from Mali, a country affected by prolonged conflict. There are also migrants from Senegal. All arrived in the Canary Islands by boat before being transferred to the mainland to ease pressure on reception facilities in the archipelago.
The programme, which has been strongly criticised by the Partido Popular and Vox, began in 2023 and remains in operation.
The current group arrived in Guardamar last December. Many have refugee status or international protection, although this does not automatically grant them permission to work. Work authorisation is assessed individually in each case.
“They Just Want to Work”
Since the first groups arrived in 2023, some migrants have managed to regularise their situation and find employment, particularly in agriculture and fishing along the Alicante coast.
According to Costa Blanca Explorer hotel manager Gonzalo Monfort, the main concern among the migrants is not accommodation, but the ability to work and support themselves.
“They do not want to be housed and maintained permanently without being able to do anything,” he said. “What they want is work and a way to earn a living, so they can support themselves and, above all, send money to their families in Mali, where there is a war.”
Monfort said the frustration is linked to the slow pace of the administrative process. Many migrants believe they meet the requirements set by the government, while others are close to completing the required period of residence. However, their cases differ depending on their legal and asylum status.
“What they want is to work,” Monfort added. “But the procedures are not fast.”
He also warned that even when migrants do obtain work and residence papers, integration remains difficult. Finding housing is one of the biggest problems.
“If access to housing is difficult for us, it is much worse for them,” he said. “Even when they find work, some end up living on the street or in abandoned places.”
Political Criticism
Guardamar is currently the only municipality in the Vega Baja hosting migrants under this programme. The arrangement has been criticised by local representatives of the Partido Popular and Vox, who argue that it creates problems of coexistence.
Supporters of the reception programme, however, say the migrants are in a vulnerable situation and are asking for the chance to work legally, live independently and move on from temporary accommodation.
