“We are afraid to go out”

The station and its surroundings have become a place of permanent stay for homeless people who use the facility’s restrooms during the day and stay in the neighborhood sleeping in doors and in the streets. Some spend the night in transition centers or shelters, but others spend the night directly on the streets.

The situation in the region is complex. As proof, the numerous videos recorded by residents in recent months, in which the image of a central, spacious and bright square contrasts with the fights, attacks, shouting and fights that occur daily. These clashes occur, on numerous occasions, between these people – most of them men – in a state of drunkenness or under the influence of drugs.

Not only do they fight, but they also scold the locals. “When we want to access our homes, we must ask them to stand up and let us pass because they are sleep at the door. Some take it well, but others less and confront us. We are afraid“, says Francisco Delgado, president of the Jaén Centro Neighborhood Association. “Other times we have to close the gate with all haste so they don’t sneak inside. Something similar happens when leaving the garages: “They sleep on the ground and we don’t see them,” he laments, fearing that one day an accident could occur.

“We have teenagers who They can’t go to school alone out of fear of what they might find on the doorstep or in the street; “They can’t even go down to throw out the trash, despite their age.” For For women, the situation is even worse.ensures, especially for the youngest, that when passing by them – something inevitable, given that they are spread throughout the neighborhood – they are scolded and have to listen to “sexual atrocities“. Our girls and women face constant threats to their safety, neighbors say.

The numerous businesses in this district, which is also a nerve center of the commerce and catering In the city, they do not fare any better and also suffer the consequences of this situation of insecurity. Sometimes they can’t even raise the blinds because they find them posted in front of the door; in others, they are victims of theft and burglary constants which, despite complaints, still lead to nothing. This is the case of a supermarket which even suffered four flights in one dayabout which the police can’t do much. They even went so far as to set fire to a commercial passage where they usually sleep, further increasing the danger faced by neighbors and traders.

They demand solutions

The arrival of seasonal workers in the city in search of work has worsened an already complicated situation. Those who have not found a pit or are in the country illegally cannot spend the night in shelters and end up near the train station. Faced with this increase, neighbors requested a increased police presencelike the one organized last year, when a special surveillance service was activated 24 hours which had a decisive effect. This year, however, for the government team of Julio Millán This area, nor this problem, is not a priority and they argue that local police has no staff enough for this device.

But above all, what the neighbors are asking for is bus station transfer towards a more peripheral area, a demand which is not new. In fact, there have been many attempts by different municipal administrations, and the Minister Oscar Puente He even announced it a few months ago during the presentation of the Jaén intermodal rail and bus station. However, the proposal found itself, for the umpteenth time, caught in a tangle of political and institutional wrangling, and to date its future is unknown.

For its part, the Jaén Centro Neighborhood Association will begin next week a series of contacts with all the municipal groups to express their requests and try to find someone to take charge of the terrible situation who lives