Two shantytown settlements in La Sagrera are evicted due to a "serious and imminent" security risk

BarcelonaOn a vacant lot near the Treball Digne bridge in Barcelona's Sant Andreu district, carts piled high with suitcases, bicycles, and other personal belongings are piled up. The owners have hastily gathered their possessions and remain nearby, sitting silently on the bridge itself or at its ends, or gathered on benches, waiting to find out where they can go for shelter. They are more than a hundred people who lived in two shantytown settlements located on land owned by Adif (the Spanish railway infrastructure manager), which a large contingent of Barcelona's Guardia Urbana (municipal police) and the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) evicted and dispersed this Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. The Barcelona City Council has reported that the operation was prompted by a Fire Department report concluding that there was a "very serious and imminent" risk to the people living in these conditions, leading to the decision to intervene "urgently," as there was a "risk to their lives." According to Barcelona Fire Chief Sebastià Massagué, a fire broke out last weekend in one of the shacks. "The report simply emphasizes the safety of the people and highlights the risk of anyone else being trapped," he said. 126 people were evacuated from the shacks, located on a plot of land in the Sagrera area, four of whom were women, according to Sant Andreu councilor Marta Villanueva. There were no minors among them. The area, with about forty shacks, contained combustible materials, including waste, electrical appliances, tents, propane tanks, portable stoves, and small fires, all of which increased the risk of fire and, therefore, rapid spread. In fact, Massagué said that some people were even sleeping in an electrical substation. "We wanted to prevent further casualties," he explained.

126 expelled, 58 attended

The operation began in a coordinated manner, with municipal social services and cleaning crews present. Some of the residents of the settlement who were still there throughout the morning explained that they were unaware of the eviction until they were notified. According to Shei, a member of the Sagrera, Navas, and Congreso Union and the Catalan Housing Union Confederation (COSHAC), "they were only notified when they were already being evicted." She continued, explaining that the notification "cited the fire that occurred earlier this month, which some of the people in the settlement were unaware of." Professionals from the Barcelona Social Emergency and Urgent Care Center (CUESB) were deployed to the site to assist those affected. According to the city council, they assisted 58 of the 126 evicted people, half of whom were already being monitored by social services. The rest were rejected, according to the same municipal sources, although they were informed which service was responsible for their situation if they came from nearby municipalities.

The deputy head of CUESB, Merche Cuesta, explained that they hadn't provided any accommodation this morning. "The first thing we do is have people go to the service so that the relevant department can assess their situation and forward their requests to us," she said, specifying that these requests could range from accommodation to financial aid or a support network. Meanwhile, cleaning crews have been working to remove the shacks; this work will continue for a few days until the property can be returned to Adif (the Spanish railway infrastructure manager). The City Council has reminded everyone that the area is under construction and that "it will be up to the property owners to determine what measures to take." Separately, two people were arrested, one for an outstanding warrant and the other for violating immigration law.

Meanwhile, COSHAC has also criticized the actions of Jaume Collboni's government, accusing it of using evictions to "displace poor people from the urban landscape," and has linked these policies to gentrification processes. David Espinós, from Amics del Quart Món, a leading organization in the city providing support and assistance to residents of informal settlements, laments that eviction without alternative housing will force those affected to seek a new location, and that far from improving their living conditions, these will only make them "more precarious." In this regard, the director of this organization also criticized the Barcelona City Council for using "security or public health" as justification for expelling shantytown dwellers, who have no other option but to "scatter throughout the city," as was seen in previous actions in Ciutadella Park, Joan Miró Square, and the Zona Franca.

In political terms, the Minister of Social Rights, Mònica Martínez Bravo, has rejected the department's involvement in the care of these people, unlike what it did with those evicted from the former B9 building in Badalona, ​​given the inaction of Mayor Xavier García Albiol. According to Martínez, the responsibilities lie exclusively with the municipality, and she pointed out that on this occasion, Collboni responded by seeking "appropriate solutions," while in Badalona, ​​intervention was prompted by "the climate emergency" of the low winter temperatures and the mayor's failure to appear.