Hate and ultras return to Torre Pacheco

Torre Pacheco (Murcia)They are best friends. One, Ismael, was born in Morocco; the other, Daniel, is a Spaniard born in Torre Pacheco. Both attended the unauthorized gathering that the extremist groups had held for eight o'clock in the evening in the Murcia town. According to one of the organizers, the agitator posing as a journalist, Vito Quiles, the rally didn't take place because the Civil Guard had informed them they were in danger. A threat also targeted the leader of Desokupa, Daniel Esteve, who didn't even show up in the town. However, police sources did not confirm these threats announced by Quiles. "The Civil Guard forced them to leave the town peacefully," sources from the Murcia government delegation stated. "We have no record of any threats," a local police officer confirmed.

But, just as the far-right media leaders didn't show up, little by little, around City Hall, shaved heads, torsos contoured in the gym, and very Spanish Spaniards paraded, wanting above all to kick out the "Moroccans who commit crimes" and insult Pedro. There were around two hundred protesters, coming from all over the country, and controlled by around twenty police officers who made identifications and took away a young Moroccan who had burst into the patriotic celebration.For the Moors", shouted a neighbor, microphone in hand while the Spanish anthem played and some people raised their hands to the sky. "Shut up," responded a young man, not at all happy with making such obvious proclamations.

The hatred reflected on some faces wasn't directed at all Moroccans, but rather at "those who don't want to work." Ismael and Daniel themselves agreed. A friend agreed, denouncing the high crime rate in Torre Pacheco for years, especially in certain neighborhoods, referring to San Antonio, where most of the Moroccan community lives.

The spark of TVE

A few minutes after the conversation between the two friends, when there was still little ultra-right crowd in the square—"I was expecting more people," admitted one woman—the spark that ignited everything was ignited: in this case, it was the live broadcast by TVE. Suddenly, emerging from all directions, dozens of people began heckling the journalist, throwing water at her and insulting her. This situation continued for more than two hundred meters, until the Civil Guard formed a cordon around the TVE journalist.

From there, the shouts and insults began. Small far-right groups, some wearing gloves and corporate T-shirts, poked their heads out—and especially their chests—to mark their territory, while the local police chief of Torre Pacheco greeted them effusively with hugs. "My wife can't go out alone, you fucking Moors," shouted a man, his face flushed. Pointing at the police, he added, "You walk around the streets with knives and don't do anything." The man was mainly targeting the "ores(unaccompanied minors), making it clear that he had Moroccan friends who "thought the same as him" about these young people.

While the protesters who had responded to the call to "hunt down the North African" gathered near the town hall, the local police and Civil Guard had already set up a security operation to secure the San Antonio neighborhood. More officers than any other day, with checkpoints at all entrances to the town, to prevent the entry of armed extremists who would come to Torre Pacheco to attack the North African community. Despite the presence of more than 100 officers, a local police officer admitted that it could be a very dangerous night because the extremists can enter "two by two" and it would be "very difficult to control them." In the end, this didn't happen, and there were no incidents. "It was a peaceful night," summarized Mayor Pedro Ángel Roca (PP).

Hatred remains entrenched in Torre Pacheco. On the other side of town, the young Moroccans who had been out for four nights defending their people—On Monday there were about sixty– they just need a spark to jump.

Facing the square that separates them and marks the border of San Antonio, the window of an Arab shop prominently displays three soccer jerseys. One from Spain, one from Morocco, and one from the Spanish national team with the number 19 on the back, the number of Lamine Yamal. A metaphor for Torre Pacheco, a town where coexistence is on the verge of collapse after the attack on a 68-year-old man.the alleged perpetrator was arrested and was from outside the Murcian municipality—and the actions of extremist groups that have fueled xenophobia. Hope, Ismael, and Daniel, who, despite attending the extremist demonstration, claim that their friendship demonstrates that all is not lost and Torre Pacheco can return to normal.