Albiol evicts the hundreds of people who lived in the B9: "I'm on the street, I don't know where I'll go"

BadalonaDozens of people with nowhere else to go are sunbathing in the Sant Roc neighborhood of Badalona. They do so amidst hastily made makeshift bags, old suitcases, and rusty bicycles. It's all they have. They are some of the residents of the abandoned B9 high school, where Until recently there were more than 400 occupantsMost of them undocumented migrants who had already been in other settlements in the city. This Wednesday they were evicted again, as had already happened with the occupied warehouses where they lived before.

This is the case of Samba Niang, who listens to music on a large speaker in the center of the square. The song is his; it's about Lamine Yamal and he composed it when he lived in Madrid. He says he left the Spanish capital for Barcelona because he was told there was "less racism" here. He says he has nowhere to go, but he's certain he has to leave Badalona because he's not wanted here, and perhaps he'll try his luck in La Florida, in the Morad neighborhood, to "make it as an artist."

Meanwhile, puffing out his chest after having achieved what he had been promising for months, the mayor of Badalona, ​​Xavier García Albiol, strolls through the courtyard of the old B9 high school. It's completely empty; there are only a few traces of a hasty departure. Like someone rushing out of the house without time to grab everything. Shopping carts, laundry hanging out to dry, balls, suitcases, cups, milk, an Estelada flag... "Don't touch anything, for your own good," says the mayor, describing how the building is a "disaster."

This scene began long before it unfolded. By 6 a.m., many people were already awake in the abandoned school, wondering hopefully if the eviction would be called off. because it rained a lot on TuesdayHowever, the arrival of the police an hour later came as a shock to the residents of B9, who were rushing to gather their belongings before the operation began. As the police began illuminating the windows of the former high school with blue lights, many occupants chose to leave. "I don't want any trouble with the police," said Alex. One of the first things he mentioned was that he wanted to learn Catalan. He comes from Gambia and had been living in the high school for three months. It's "crazy" to evict them in the middle of winter, he lamented.

Arrests and deportation proceedings

Before the arrival of the judicial delegation, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) tried to speak with the occupants. They told them that anyone who left before the eviction would not be identified. And for some, this is crucial. Their continued stay in Spain hangs in the balance: if they are undocumented, they could be arrested by the National Police – who were also deployed Wednesday morning – and deported to their country of origin. This is exactly what happened: Spanish immigration officers arrested 15 people. The Mossos identified 181. These were the people who remained inside the building after the police began the eviction. Now, deportation proceedings will be opened for those arrested, a lengthy administrative process that does not imply their immediate return to their country of origin.

It was a few minutes past eight in the morning when riot police from the Mossos d'Esquadra entered the school through the back door. As the police went in, Ibrahima came out. "We're peaceful, we don't want any trouble," he said. He's been in Catalonia for 19 years and has lived in the old school for two. He looked at his phone, and his wife was on the wallpaper; he only sees her once every two years in Senegal. The last night in building B9 was difficult precisely because he knew it would be his last. "I tried to sleep, but I couldn't," he admitted. And the most repeated comment was: "I'm on the street, I don't know where I'll go." Some admit they'll have to live outdoors. Others plan to occupy another building, but they lament that there are fewer and fewer of them in the city.

Haji also has nowhere to go, but he's more worried about his dog, Tupac. He's trying to contact the technicians at the Foundation for Advice and Action in Defense of Animals (FAADA) in Barcelona to take care of him while he finds a place to live, since the dog's registered address is in the Catalan capital. If all goes well, Tupac will sleep under a roof tonight, but Haji knows he'll have to sleep on the street because he has no other option. As he has warned ARA on other occasions, many of those evicted will stay in Badalona, and he insists they won't disappear no matter how many times they're kicked out of every building they occupy.

Albiol rules out rehousing them

Albiol has evicted almost all the settlements in the city, and many of these people have ended up in the B9 building with no other option. "It's the result of his policies," says Younous Drame, one of the first to settle in that abandoned building. When asked about Albiol's rhetoric, in which he accuses them of being criminals, he replies that he has done all sorts of jobs, especially as a gardener and fruit picker, and now he's studying organic farming and just wants a place to live with dignity. This August, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) arrested a man for killing another inside the school during a fight. A few weeks ago, Haji explained that the arrested man and the victim had only been in the B9 building for a short time and that they barely knew each other, but they didn't know where else to go, so they took them in. "Sometimes, because of what a few people do, the whole community ends up losing," Ibrahima laments.

Nor have the nine cases of tuberculosis detected in the building over the last two years softened Albiol's stance in favor of the eviction. In fact, public health professionals participated in the police operation this Wednesday because one person is still undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. The Deputy Director of Surveillance and Emergencies, Jacobo Mendioroz, clarified that the outbreak is under control and there is no risk of further spread, but that it is a disease requiring long-term treatment and that patients must be monitored to ensure they complete it. The reality is that the public response has been weak, and Mayor Albiol isn't hiding this; rather, he has made it a point. In subsequent statements from a street adjacent to the building, he asserted that the eviction was "necessary" and "absolutely justified" because the people living there were causing "serious problems of coexistence and security." Regarding where these people will go now, Albiol reiterated that he will not rehouse them. He wants them in the city. "The City Council will not spend a single euro to accommodate them," he declared. According to the mayor, some 150 people who lived in building B9 have already left the city since the eviction was authorized, and only about 50 have received assistance from the city's social services. He added that about 15 were able to be relocated to temporary apartments. "Now it's up to Pedro Sánchez to find housing for these people," Albiol stated. "I wouldn't want to say anything stronger because I have the institutional respect that Mayor Albiol has never had in his life. He could try to solve the problems of Badalona's residents instead of looking for scapegoats among the most vulnerable," responded the Spanish government's delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto. For her part, the Minister of Social Rights, Mònica Martínez Bravo, reported that 59 of the evicted people have been referred to social services. Sources at Barcelona City Hall indicate that the Barcelona Social Emergency and Urgent Care Center (CUESB) has not been activated because it is not a case of "emergency or urgent situation due to an unforeseen event."

While the mayor declared he would not allocate resources to help the occupants of building B9, some people approached the press conference—which was heavily guarded by police—to chant against him. It was the last stronghold of a demonstration that had tried to prevent the eviction earlier that morning. They were unsuccessful. The only tense moment occurred when the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) cleared the main entrance of the school, where some residents and some protesters, such as Guanyem councilwoman Dolors Sabater, were gathered. The police pushed them back while some neighbors broadcast the scene like a football match. A few meters away, a delegation from the Catalan Ombudsman's office was lamenting the City Council's lack of willingness to help the occupants.

At that very moment, two blocks away, Djily Niang was making coffee and eating a croissant in a bar. He explained that he had just finished working on the Camp Nou construction project and that all his luggage was inside the building. She arrived from Senegal eight years ago and has been living at the institute for two. "I have a job and I'm going to look for an apartment, but the vast majority will be left on the street," she laments. For the moment, it's the only option available to many of the occupants of building B9. This situation has generated immediate criticism. Caritas Barcelona has called for public administrations at all levels, organizations, and civil society to work together on "prevention" to avoid these situations. Cardinal Archbishop Joan Josep Omella has stated that by each going their own way, "we won't get anywhere." Amnesty International has already urged Albiol to "protect human rights," and the Third Sector Social Roundtable has also criticized the fact that alternative housing hasn't been offered to the occupants and has considered it "especially serious" that the eviction took place in winter and just the day after heavy rain.