"I came because it's the only thing I can do": Outcry in Barcelona against the attack on the Flotilla

BarcelonaThousands of people—15,000 according to the Guardia Urbana (Urban Guard)—protested this Thursday afternoon in Barcelona, but each did so in their own way. While a group of protesters clashed with riot police blocking their way to the Ronda Litoral and others did the same at the entrance to Terminal S of the port, a few meters away, a group of people stretched a white cloth that stretched about ten meters. "I don't know what it's for, but they asked me for help," said one of them. Behind them, four tents were beginning to operate as a welcome point for a camp that the organizers aim to maintain at least until the demonstration called for Saturday morning begins.

The three columns of protesters that brought together thousands of people in the Drassanes area ended up turning into a protest that, within a radius of a few meters, spread to different locations. However, all the slogans recalled not only the attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla but also the genocide in Palestine. The most repeated demands related to ending the arms trade with Israel and urging governments to sever relations with them.

"I came because it's the only thing I can do," said Martina, from the Clot neighborhood, sitting next to the first two tents set up in the area. "There's a frustration that all of us here share, and we see nothing else to do but mobilize and support, even if it's symbolic," she insisted. Anyone who approached the tents set up to accompany the encampment found a table at the welcome point with informational brochures signed by the Global Sumud Flotilla and the Global Movement to Gaza, reading: "We establish this permanent space to call for a commercial and institutional boycott of Israel. That's why we chose the port."

Without yet knowing the number of protesters who had gathered during the afternoon, Berta, from Sants, was pleased to have seen so many people mobilized and, above all, to see "so many different profiles, so many different people." While at the end of the ramp leading to the Ronda Litoral, the activists confronting the Mossos d'Esquadra were mostly young, among those cheering them on from above were people of all ages.

Two arrested

During the afternoon, two protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct, damage, carrying incendiary devices, and assaulting officers. The Mossos d'Esquadra are also investigating a third person for the same reasons. The police force also reported 14 officers with bruises, all initially minor, and two of them have been transferred to the Manso Police Unit for evaluation.

Aside from the two most tense areas (the entrance to the patrol station, where the Mossos d'Esquadra charged several times with batons, and the entrance to the port terminal), there was nothing in the Plaza de la Carbonera to suggest that the demonstration itself could end in riots. In fact, after a period of singing and a festive atmosphere, many opted to sit on the ground in circles and chat. The square was covered with cardboard signs with messages against genocide written in Catalan, Spanish, Arabic, English, and Italian.

That same atmosphere prevailed in the square just after 9 p.m., as the assembly expected to begin that would organize the fledgling encampment was expected. Once again, however, the day had different scenarios. Beneath the cable car tower, dozens of people danced to the rhythm of a batucada (a type of drum) and applauded the Palestinian flag lowered from the structure. They also applauded the banner that covered the name of the Jaume I Tower and replaced it with the Palestinian Tower. Meanwhile, at the entrance to the ring road, which was blocked throughout the afternoon, a few dozen young people continued to throw objects at the riot police inside the tunnel. Many watched from above until, at 9:30 p.m., Mossos d'Esquadra vans dispersed them toward Avenida Paral·lel.

Demonstrations throughout Catalonia

The afternoon demonstration in Barcelona was not the only protest organized today in the country. During the afternoon, thousands of people took to the streets of Lleida, Girona, and Tarragona to condemn Israel's actions, and demonstrations were organized in hundreds of municipalities in the squares.

The first to do so, however, were the youngest: the students. At noon, 6,500 people, according to the Guardia Urbana, demonstrated in Barcelona's Plaza Universidad after having gone on strike against the attack on the Flotilla. Lua Millet, of the Student Union, pointed out that the strike had been called for days, but the coincidence with the attack on the Flotilla could have motivated more people to take to the streets. Millet also sent a clear message to the governments: "Forcible responses and actions, not just empty words."