The concentration of support for immigrants expelled last week from the former B9 Institute and remaining in Badalona was the scene this Monday afternoon of moments of tension between the 500 people in favor of the expellees and the 200 against their presence in the commune.
A Mossos d’Esquadra cordon separated the two groupswho at no time met, but who launched slogans for and against the presence of immigrants in the municipality. Those supporting the group have raised slogans such as “Albiol, fascist” -in reference to the mayor of the commune, the popular Xavier García Albiol- or “No one is illegal”, while opponents demanded that immigrants be expelled from the neighborhood. Among the pro-immigrant group was the actor Willy Toledo and Aïda Llauradóspokesperson for the Municipalities at Badalona City Hall.
Mamadou Yéro Seydispokesperson for the Socialist Youth Organization of Catalonia, indicated that this Monday’s rally responds to the presence of “more than 150 supporters of Albiol” who, this Sunday, “prevented the entry of around fifteen children” into the Mare de Déu parish of Montserrat, where “they had found a temporary residential alternative where they could stay for a few days so as not to sleep in the cold.”
Yero Seydi regretted that opponents of the presence of fifteen immigrants in the parish “They came to reprimand them, with racist and xenophobic chants, trying to generate a situation of direct confrontation.” This is why he indicated that this Monday’s rally aimed to show that “the working class will be on the front line” to “confront” the “reactionary” speeches of the “extreme right”.
He also accused Albiol of trying to set up a “conflict framework” between the neighborhoods “and among the working class”, and designated all the representatives of the Catalan parliamentary arc without exception as “responsible” for the situation.
Expelled people occupy the municipal shelter of Can Bofí Vell
Some expelled from the former B9 institute in Badalona occupied the municipal hostel of Can Bofí Vellwhich closed in May 2024. Some did so the same day they were kicked out of B9 and others arrived later. In addition, A dozen evictees camp under exit 210 of the C-31 in Badalona while waiting for the Badalona town hall to decide whether or not to release the space.
Those affected were camped under the C-31 bridge They have tents that have been given to them to protect themselves from low temperatures. and intermittent rains. A tent has been set up in the area where water, food and basic necessities are distributed.
Social entities are trying to find an alternative to this. However, This is not an easy task due to the lack of available space and opposition from neighborhoods.. This Sunday, pressure from neighbors prevented fifteen of those evicted from spending the night in the parish of Mare de Déu de Montserrat.
Sources from Creu Roja explain that the fifteen people who were to spend the night in the parish could be directed to other facilities and, as in the case of those camping at C-31, they continue to look for spaces, as the Casal Antoni Sala and Badalona Bridgewhere around ten people can spend the night for a week.
The Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona, that of Badalona, the Confederation of Federations of Neighborhood Associations of Catalonia and the Neighborhood Coordinator of Baix Besòs expressed their rejection of the management of the expulsion of the 400 people who lived in the B9 institute of Badalona, and They criticized the fact that the town hall had treated those affected “as if they were rubbish”..
The entities denounced the fact that Mayor Xavier García Albiol is using this conflict to “generalize accusations of criminality against these groups”, and they accused him of tending to “stir up the problem” in order to mobilize his voters. For all this, they called on supra-municipal administrations to intervene to find a solution.
Albiol meets its neighbors
For his part, Albiol summoned the neighbors this afternoon that on Sunday they demonstrated at the gates of the Mare de Déu parish of Montserrat and the Can Bofí Vell hostel to explain the efforts made with the government to relocate the occupants of B9 outside the city
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