The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this Friday the deployment of the START team (Spanish Technical Team for Humanitarian Response) to Ceuta. The aim is to strengthen the registration and humanitarian assistance efforts for migrants in the autonomous city and expedite the return process for those who have not been granted international protection.
According to a press release from the Ministry, the fourteen trucks containing this infrastructure and the necessary assembly equipment will depart this Friday from Algeciras so that deployment in Ceuta can begin “as soon as possible.”
The emergency START structures being deployed include ten 42-square-meter tents and forty 36-square-meter inflatable arches, totaling more than 1,800 square meters and providing on-site assistance to up to 600 people. They are fully operational and autonomous in humanitarian contexts. These new facilities will complement the social and humanitarian aid tents already installed in the designated areas for registering migrants.
“This new equipment, notable for its operational autonomy and rapid deployment, and which was used in other emergencies such as the DANA storm, joins other shipments from the Ministry of Defense currently underway, including more tents and bunk beds,” the Ministry stated.
Known as the ‘Red Vests,’ START is a response capability of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), which reports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. It is a top-tier team, prepared to deploy to any humanitarian emergency worldwide, as was the case recently following the earthquake in Venezuela.