Antoni Bassas's analysis: 'Regarding the comments on naiveté and the B9 of Badalona'

Today is Friday; moreover, it is the Friday on which the Christmas school holidays begin and on which we enter these two hazy days of life in slow motion and from which we will wake up, as if we had hibernated, the day after Three Kings Day.

And so, today I'd like to approach this end-of-year weekend with a reflection, rather than a current affairs analysis. A reflection on the comments received by the last two analyses. "Eviction in Badalona, ​​a failure of all administrations", and "Albiol, for the eviction of the absolute majority."

First of all, we at ARA value the comments of our readership and consider them a fundamental part of our work. Regarding the eviction in Badalona, ​​there have been some harsh comments, for example, regarding the legal argument: "If there's no one to maintain order and enforce it, whether it's Christmas or Midsummer's Eve, we're headed for the disaster that naiveté brings." "They're not obligated to have anything prepared, except perhaps their return ticket to their countries." Or arguments about our criticism of equating immigration with crime: "Immigration = crime, does that win votes? So, reality wins votes."

There are also bunglers: "You have no fucking idea about the headaches immigrants bring, but hey, if you want, no problem, share them with your family, friends, acquaintances and even in your house."

Or conspiracy theorists: "Do you live in Badalona, ​​Toni? Do you know about the problems with immigration? Why don't you interview someone who can explain it to us? Aaaah, nooooo. These aren't the "orders" of those who pay the subsidies. Of course, man, NOW I dictate that I understand them" (they run ads in the newspaper).

Now, regarding "the disaster that naiveté brings," there's no naivety here. What we have are two different approaches to the same problem: either you're on the street and what you do from now on is none of my business, or before sending you out onto the street, we consider what that person will do, even if it's because their desperate situation could create problems for others. There's no naivety here. These past few days we've said, repeatedly, that the Barcelona metropolitan area is under intense immigration pressure, as is the case in many other cities around the world, and that the problem isn't easy to address. Precisely because it's not easy, because it ranges from the most immediate (where will they sleep tonight?) to the most structural (who should grant them papers or issue their deportation order?), it's essential that the city councils, the Catalan government, and the Spanish government work together in coordination and with adequate resources. Rather, the naiveté lies in thinking that we will evict a person and they will magically disappear, sucked into any street in our country.

It's not true that immigration equals crime. Immigration usually means poverty, and sometimes poverty leads to crime. It seems unbelievable that we have to say this in a country full of Catalans whose parents are immigrants. And regarding criminals, the Penal Code and deportation, if the law says so, yes.

Regarding the claim that I take evicted people into my home or that I have no idea about the problems caused by immigration, I'd be living in a bubble (and therefore a bad journalist) if I weren't aware of what's happening. Or do you think that I, like perhaps some of you, don't have people sleeping on the streets right under my own doorstep? And since you don't necessarily know what I do when I'm not working as a journalist, I'll tell you that, for the last 25 years, I've been a trustee of the Arrels Foundation and now I'm a trustee of the Santa Anna parish. I'm not a role model for anything, but social problems are not foreign to me.

And regarding ARA and writing at the behest of the authorities, don't be naive: the quickest way for a media outlet to disappear, due to its uselessness, is to write at the behest of the authorities. And ARA has proven, repeatedly, that it does not do this.

Look, at the heart of the analyses these days is a concern about something that seems obvious to us: we are all human beings. And there can't be first-class and second-class citizens, even if it's just because, one day, we ourselves could be considered second-class. Or do I need to remind you of the number of people who aren't immigrants but who have a lot of trouble finding affordable housing? A lack of solidarity cannot be an option. Remember: if they do it to them, one day they could do it to us. And we are a developed country, which should be able to deal with problems like the one in Badalona without them becoming entrenched.

We'll be back next Monday. Good morning and have a great weekend.