Under the C-31 bridge, five minutes from Sant Roc station in Badalona (Barcelona), there is no time to think about Christmas. For a week, people evicted from the former B9 institute, the largest occupied settlement in Catalonia, have continued to sleep outside, trying to protect themselves from the cold and rain with more than 80 tents erected along the road, after an expulsion promoted by Mayor Xavier García Albiol (PP) with no stable housing alternative for the majority. This is the same place where they took refuge after the Urban Police prevented them from settling in the square in front of the old institute.
Since Tuesday, some of the evicted people have begun to be moved following an agreement between the Generalitat and several social entities to rehouse nearly a hundred people who were sleeping under the bridge. The destination, however, remains uncertain for many. Some were sent by the Red Cross to localities in Lleida, Girona or Tarragona, separated from the group of known people and members of their families who supported each other. “They say it’s temporary. Temporary for what? We are already on the street,” summarizes Abdou Naser, a Nigerian and one of the men who continue to sleep under the viaduct.
During the day the movement is constant. Cooks for Peace volunteers prepare breakfast, and private cars arrive constantly with donations of clothes, blankets and food. On Christmas Eve, a senior officer from the Mossos d’Esquadra, who was present on the day of the expulsion, also passed by discreetly to observe the scene. The help is appreciated, but the atmosphere is tense. Some have not showered for more than a week and the accumulated wear and tear is felt throughout the camp, as if the situation could boil over at any moment. Many fear being transferred again without knowing where or for how long. The shared sensation is that of always being in motion, without stability or certainties.
“It’s been a week since we’ve been able to shower,” insists Abdou. The majority agree on the same fear: the proposed alternatives do not last more than a few days. “The problem with these shelters is time. They give us a week. The good deed is done and then we find ourselves on the street,” he explains.
On Tuesday evening, several Red Cross vans were said to have arrived at the point where the evictees were spending the night, about a 10-minute walk from the former institute. Some agreed to leave, even if they confirm having done so without clear information on the duration of their stay or what will happen next. Sasha, a Ukrainian and former resident of B9, was transferred to a temporary home in Malgrat de Mar. “I can leave my things there for a few days, but they divided us,” she explains. The distance from temporary accommodation, the lack of information and uncertainty worsen the conditions in which they find themselves. “I live in B9, but I work in Badalona. How can they transfer me to a place where I don’t even know where it is?” » asks Gema.
In the middle of Christmas week, different groups maintain kitchen teams to guarantee hot meals for the coming days. This Wednesday the service was organized in a shared way, with the arrival of large pots for the distribution of food on Christmas Eve.
Under the bridge, Abdou Nasa suddenly stops, as if he had just noticed something that had remained unresolved these days. “I didn’t realize… it’s Christmas,” he said, his eyes red with fatigue and precarious situation. Around them, shops continue to line up in the street, ignoring the calendar of festivities. With no clear destination, they spend Christmas under bridges, with no intention of leaving.
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