Throughout history, fear has been used as a political tool. There are also times when a society, with real concern about a problem, can stop thinking about it and just react. The organized rally for next September 2nd in support of Ceuta deserves, for that very reason, reflection.
That Ceuta needs support is indisputable. Its citizens have the right to demand security, resources, and an effective immigration policy. The same applies to the inhabitants of El Hierro, Lampedusa, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, or any other place that has suffered, or may suffer again, extraordinary migratory pressure. But asking for solutions is one thing. Making immigration seem like the enemy is quite another. Here it is worth remembering a phrase said ninety years ago, in one of the hardest moments of our history. On October 12, 1936, in the Paraninfo of the University of Salamanca, Miguel de Unamuno verbally confronted General Millán-Astray with a phrase that has gone down in history: "You will conquer, but you will not convince." A phrase that represents the defense of intelligence and the word against shouts, force, and intimidation. Perhaps that is precisely what we need today. To think before shouting.
Because history shows that fear can easily become a political product. In that Spain of 1936, violence in the streets, provocations, and propaganda fueled the confrontation. There were attacks, shootings, fires, and murders. The press of each side used the events to create opposing political narratives. In certain accounts and testimonies about Madrid at that time, it has also been told that some wealthy groups fired shots into the air at night. They wanted to create a sense of insecurity that conservative press could then use as proof that the Government no longer controlled the streets. Although caution is advised with this assertion—as there is not enough basis to present it as a widespread practice of "the rich of Madrid"—it is important to remember something broader and well-documented: violence could be used for political purposes and the journalistic account of those events helped to increase the sense of chaos and misrule.
The lesson is clear. When a society stops looking at facts and starts reacting only to the narrative of them, it runs an enormous danger, and that leads us directly to immigration. Because migrations did not start in Ceuta, nor did they begin yesterday, nor will they end tomorrow. The history of humanity is also the history of migrations. Man has changed territory since human societies have existed: he has fled wars, persecutions, hunger, droughts, and epidemics. He has sought work, security, freedom, and opportunities. Spain knows this very well. For centuries, we have been a country of people who go abroad. Millions of Spaniards left their towns and cities to seek a better life. Many went to America, others traveled to Europe. The Canary Islands know this history well; many of our grandparents and great-grandparents also crossed seas and borders. In many cases, they were received as foreigners, in some places they were treated with contempt, in others, they were seen as an opportunity. And no one should forget that much of Spain's recent history has been written by people who had to leave because they could not live with dignity in their country.
That is why it is striking that today some want to present immigration as if it were something strange in history. It is not. It is something inherent to humanity, to human evolution itself. That does not mean we ignore the problems it entails. It would be absurd.
The arrival of many people in a space, especially a reduced one, puts great pressure that can saturate public services, cause housing problems, demand extra resources, and present great challenges for security, integration, and coexistence. Ceuta needs resources. The Canary Islands need resources. Spain needs resources. And Europe needs to accept its responsibility. But precisely because the problem is real, it needs real solutions. Not slogans. Not simplifications. Not demonization.
But there is something else: we must also protect the dignity of those who arrive. Because defending borders does not mean treating those who cross them inhumanely. One can support a strict immigration policy and reject racism. One can demand control at the borders and at the same time protect human rights. One can demand security without blaming the foreigner just for being a foreigner. One can be worried and still think.
When politics manages to convince us that all our problems have a single culprit, it is usually through an explanation that is too simple for a reality that is too complex. Behind every dinghy, behind every floating artifact, there is a story. Behind every number there is a person. But behind every migratory movement there are also economic, political, social, and geopolitical causes. These do not disappear just because we raise a banner, shout, and insult the Government. Africa is not going to cease to exist. Economic inequality is not going to disappear, nor are wars, nor climate change. And, therefore, neither will migrations.
The question, then, is not whether we will have migrations, but how we are going to manage them. And that is where we need intelligence. Not fear. Not hate. Not propaganda. Intelligence.
We already know what happens in a society where each group creates its own reality. Each one chooses the facts that suit it and sees the other as a threat. In 1936, that dynamic led Spain to a tragedy. We should not need another one to remember the lesson. That is why it is a good time to return to Unamuno: "You will conquer, but you will not convince." We do not have to defeat anyone. We need to convince. Convince the citizens of Ceuta that they are not alone. Convince the citizens of El Hierro, Lampedusa, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote… that they are not either. Convince those who arrive that Spain is a country where laws are respected, with rights and duties. Convince Europe that Spain's borders are also Europe's borders. And convince ourselves that we can face a phenomenon as old as humanity without abandoning our own humanity. Because perhaps the real danger is not that people migrate—that has always happened and will continue to happen—the real danger would be that we stop thinking. That we exchange reason for fear, politics for slogans, solidarity for suspicion, and history for selective memory.
Ceuta needs help. The Canary Islands have also needed it. And Spain needs a serious, effective, European, and humane migration policy. But none of those things are built by raising your voice. They are built by thinking. Because, in the end, we can win with noise. But we will only convince with reason.
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