Irish Examiner view: Ceuta crisis is part of the legacy of colonialism

Once the headlines fade, an enduring question remains: Why does Spain possess sovereign territory on the African mainland?

Migrants who crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta line up for food distribution on a beach on Monday. Picture: Bernat Armangue/AP

The extraordinary scenes in Ceuta have introduced millions of people to a place they scarcely knew existed.

Attention has focused, understandably, on the migration crisis, the competing narratives surrounding it and the misinformation that inevitably accompanies such events.