The eviction of an imam in Salt sparks anger in the migrant community over homelessness.

LeapThe eviction of an imam and his family has inflamed the migrant community of Salt, which has long denounced housing racism and difficulties in accessing housing. The protests began Monday night spontaneously, without any prior communication or any organizing entity, and continued Tuesday night, in a second day of altercations and clashes that ended with at least six arrests.

On the second, more heated night, around 100 people, mostly of migrant origin, young and hooded, lit bonfires in the middle of the streets of downtown Salt, around the town hall, and threw stones at the riot police line between 8:00 and 12:00. The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) have deployed public order reinforcements and activated ARRO units to contain the unrest. Police reinforcements remain active to prevent further incidents. The City Council has also met with the other imams in the town to act as intermediaries and help calm the situation.

Eviction and attempted occupation of the same apartment

It all began last Friday, when the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), by court order, evicted the imam's family from the apartment where they had been living for some time, on Passeig Països Catalans. The eviction proceeded without incident, and the family of sub-Saharan origin, with minor children in their care, was left homeless, with only the option of staying in an emergency hotel for three nights at the city's expense. After these three nights of temporary housing, on Monday afternoon, the family decided to return to the apartment they had been evicted from, owned by an investment fund. They broke down the door and attempted to occupy it. The alarm immediately sounded, and security forces arrived at the apartment to evacuate them quickly, following the anti-squatting protocol. According to local residents, the imam, Papa Diawara, of the mosque on Rafel Masó Street, frequented by Gambians and Senegalese, is around 70 years old. Following the second eviction, he ended up hospitalized with bruises, as was his eldest daughter, aged 20.

From then on, the protests began on Monday night in front of the local Mossos d'Esquadra police station, where eggs and stones were thrown. On Tuesday morning and afternoon, the demonstrations continued peacefully, this time with a large presence of women and families and with the support of the Salt Housing Union. Then, on Tuesday night, without the union's protection, the youth continued in the streets, causing unorganized disturbances. In a message from the Salt Islamic community shared on WhatsApp, Papa Diawara called on young people to stop the violent demonstrations.

What's behind the protests

Despite being an imam, the protest has nothing to do with religious motives or issues of Islamic radicalization, but rather with the social unrest of the migrant community, especially due to the lack of housing, the constant evictions, and the obstacles posed by real estate agencies when renting apartments to them, according to the Housing Union. "Since September, the situation has worsened; every week there are evictions in Salt of families with children, all of whom attend public schools, and we've been warning the authorities for some time that the situation would soon be a problem, as has been seen with this social uprising," says Judit Font, a member of the union, who has closely followed the case as opportunities arise. She adds: "The people who are occupying homes are doing so by force, because they need a roof over their heads and have no way of accessing them within the normal market." The spokesperson for the Renters' Union of Catalonia expressed similar views during a media conference in Sitges: "The strange thing is that there isn't a daily and continuous social uprising."

In the case of Salt, tenants complain that most apartments are owned by vulture funds and large landowners, that 60% of the population cannot afford rent over 700 euros, and that the social rental market has collapsed.

Karim Sabni, director of the Salta-based job placement cooperative Idària, also highlights the latent discontent of a large part of Salta society: "Young people are angry because they experience mistreatment, racism, and violence at all levels, from housing to education." And, regarding the fact that the trigger was the eviction of an imam, he adds: "The imams have nothing to do with it, it's a coincidence; if it had been a priest, the headlines wouldn't be like this. The authorities should be talking to the young people of Salta from different backgrounds, so they can explain their discontent."

Salt City Council, for its part, has strongly condemned the violent events of these two days while regretting the wave of evictions that have occurred in recent months in apartments owned by vulture sources, as these properties do not allow the council to negotiate or expand the offer of social rentals.