CEUTA — The city of Ceuta has begun construction of a 300-meter ear-protection corridor around every school, hospital, and beach access point after two migrants arrived at the emergency room with their ears torn off in separate incidents, officials confirmed Thursday.
The corridors, made of reinforced plexiglass and lined with motion sensors, will require all residents to walk with their hands visible above shoulder level. A new municipal Ear Integrity Unit, staffed by 240 officers, will conduct nightly patrols and issue on-the-spot fines of 3,000 euros to anyone caught cupping a hand near their head.
«We are treating every earlobe as critical infrastructure,» said Ceuta's delegate for public safety, Marta Delgado. «If you must scratch your ear, you must first request a scratch permit from your neighborhood ear warden. We have printed 18,000 permits and they are already gone.»
The measures follow a surge in knife attacks on the Playa del Trampolín, where medics report treating wounds daily. The College of Physicians has demanded police escorts for all medical staff, and the city has converted two parking lots into ear-screening checkpoints. Drivers must now submit to a 90-second auricle inspection before entering.
Local merchants, already reeling from a 27-million-euro loss in revenue, say the corridors have turned shopping into an obstacle course. «I sold one loaf of bread yesterday,» said baker Youssef El Amrani. «The customer had to sign a waiver promising not to remove his hat.»
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are scheduled to visit Ceuta next week. The Royal Household has confirmed they will wear ceremonial ear guards and will not remove them during the entire visit.