Last Saturday 09 may at 21.00h Guardia Civil special forces blocked the Marrocan quarter of El Ejido in Spain on the search of illegal migrants heavily armed anti-riot forces broke shops, locutorios and bars of the migrant comunity. Local trade union SOC (sindicato obrer@s de campo) critizes the police brutalities.
Inhabitants had to stay in door. Some of them were beaten up on spontaneous protest against the imposed limitations Authorities deny any statement onthe incidents. Some individual quotes were "There are illegal immigrants among you. We are searching them to send them back home". The same weekend more than hundred boat people stranded on the coast line of Almeria. The coast guard took them to an internment camp.
The police attacks are the tip of the ice of actual expulsion policy against Maghrebians. Medical staff denounces patients without correct papers in hospitals and health centers of the region. When they get arrested by local police, they are overhanded within a few days. In April a dozen corrupted immigration officers were dismissed for taking bribes for licenses.
The municipality of El Ejido is the centre of Andalucian greenhouse farming. In spring 2000 a racist mob burned down hundreds of houses Arab community. The EU human rights commision condemned Mayor Juan Enciso for his leading role during the agressions . He is still on power with his local party PAL (Partido de Almeria), in the province of Almeria in coalition with the ruling socialist party PSOE. Almeria got 20,000 illegal migrants from sub-saharan Africa living under poverty conditions with a total of 150,000 foreigners. Local farmers dont mind exploiting them with minimum wages.
Home Minister Rubalcaba ignores internal police papers documenting targeted arrest in certain quarters of Madrid aimed at Marrocan which can are easily expelled to the neighbouring country. Spain is main partner of EU-frontier agency FRONTEX. Actual police actions hit the very day of the "expulsion of moriscos" 400 years ago. In 1609 Spanish kings ended the Millenium Arabian tradition on the Iberian peninula.
SOC and Izquierda Unida call for anti-xenofobic protests in El Ejido next saturday.