“After everything he's done to us, does it bother him now that we're doing 'top manta'?”

SalouThe Senegalese citizens who sell counterfeit clothing between Salou and Cambrils are furious. "No, we don't want to talk," most of them respond with a look of contempt when a journalist asks for answers. This Tuesday, 300 police officers raided various premises in Salou, Reus, and Les Borges del Camp that were operating as warehouses for counterfeit clothing that is then sold on the street. The police, who consider them a "criminal organization," already anticipated that clashes could break out. And so they did. The young Africans confronted the officers and threw stones and sticks at them. The operation resulted in confiscated material, 19 street vendors arrested, three officers injured, and an entire population shocked by the violence of the young Africans.

"These people don't start running when the police charge... They have nothing to lose," explains a resident who witnessed the riots. A painter working in front of the house in Salou where the clashes and arrests took place is sympathetic: "What should they do? They must be making a good living, right? What would you do in their place?" he asks. But not everyone sees it the same. Racist comments are also heard, as are others who simply stand on the side of the law: "If it's illegal, it's illegal," says a woman who insists she has never had any problems with her African neighbors, now detained.

Retired Street Vendors

In the center of Salou, there's a group of Senegalese people who agree to talk because they're older and haven't been street vendors for many years. "What do you want me to sell, if I walk with a crutch?" one jokes. In fact, they're the first group of people to join the group. blanket top who arrived in Salou many years ago. "Before we didn't have so many problems when we did the blanket top", explains one, who prefers not to give his name. He is convinced that times are worse now and that people are more irascible, both the natives and the police and the vendors themselves.

Most street vendors retirees They explain that their first job when they arrived in Salou was blanket top, but after a couple of years they found work in agriculture and obtained the papers to be able to work less; the rest are retired. He then came to Salou and, since then, has worked in a hotel kitchen. "He's 55 years old.

Far from the center of Salou, on the border where the seafront promenade becomes Cambrils, some Senegalese begin to spread out their white sheets and distribute soccer caps and jerseys. "You know more than we do," some of the boys respond to any question a journalist asks. Finally, one of them says he wants to talk. "And I want you to listen to me," he demands. "Senegal is not a poor country; it's a country impoverished by the Europeans and the Americans. I made slaves, took everything we had, and left Africa in the hands of corrupt politicians."

There are no precise figures, but it is estimated that between 1450 and 1900, 12.8 million Africans, mainly young men, were enslaved and transported to the Americas. To this figure must be added the 6.2 million enslaved Africans who were transported eastward. This abominable practice boosted European wealth, which enjoyed free labor, and condemned many African countries, which even lost population because of a lack of men to reproduce. "Globalization and colonization contributed to the divergence in the wealth of nations over the past two centuries," notes Oded Galor, an expert on inequalities in human development, in his book "Globalization and colonization have contributed to the divergence in the wealth of nations over the past two centuries." The journey of humanity.

The boy continues: "Why do you think so many boats arrive? And now, after everything he's done to us, you say that it bothers him that we do the blanket top"?" he asks. "The first attack came from the Europeans. I'm very sorry, but it's what you have sown." Unrelated to the conversation, some of the tourists leave the beach sand for a moment and haggle with one of the boys: "I'll buy you the T-shirt."