The Foixà City Council and the majority of residents of this small municipality in Baix Empordà, with barely 300 inhabitants, have stopped the possibility of the El Mercadal settlement house, property of the bishopric of Girona, hosting unaccompanied migrant minors, as intended. the Generalitat.
The Department of Social Rights wanted to use the space temporarily while it could not find another better housing resource for the insertion of these young people, but the opposition of the City Council and the neighbors has forced them to paralyze the action. Opponents put forward different reasons, such as urban planning, the habitability of the space or the lack of private and public services in the municipality, which they consider makes the space “absolutely inadequate for this type of activity.”
“It is a town without a nucleus, with scattered houses, without public transportation, or a doctor, without a single store, bar or restaurant. What will these young people do? Will they be confined and socially isolated or is it about allowing them to participate in a socialization process? asks Josep Maria Carbonell, neighborhood spokesperson, who considers that the use of the house for this purpose does not comply with current urban planning legislation.
They deny that this is an issue of racism or xenophobia. “We are not against the Church or against these young people, who live in a vulnerable situation, but we have to do things well,” indicates one of the more than 150 people who in recent days have signed a manifesto in which they The “social concern” is palpable and the City Council is requested, as a precautionary measure, to suspend any action aimed at temporarily converting the settlement house into a reception center for unaccompanied migrant minors. The petition was delivered to the City Council on April 7, after a meeting of the neighbors with the mayor, Josep Oliveras (Junts), in which they were informed of the intentions of the Social Rights department.
The number of young people expected to be housed was around twenty, according to some sources, with no specific period of stay. “The time necessary for their care, inclusion and preparation for adult life,” say sources from Drets Socials, who assure that the Government is looking for spaces, especially neighborhood houses, to care for young people who arrive in the country alone.
The reaction of the municipal government was immediate and last Monday an extraordinary plenary session was held in response to the “social alarm generated” in which it was agreed to ask the Generalitat for a “precautionary suspension” of the procedure, considering that allocating the colony house to migrant minors does not comply with what the law regulates for this type of accommodation.
A day later, the plenary session agreed to suspend any activity license for the camp house for a year while the permitted uses are determined. This also prevents the celebration of any tourist, recreational or cultural activity as well.
The Fundació Esplai Girona Mare de Déu del Mont, dependent on the bishopric, which manages the resource, regrets the situation. "Welcoming these young migrants is a country's need, we believe we could help", explains its director, Josep Bosch.
The Generalitat is legally studying the effects of this municipal agreement, which has raised complaints from entities such as the Solidàries NGO Coordinator, which calls it “irresponsible” because “it threatens coexistence and social cohesion.”
