Police statistics go one way and citizen perception goes another. This is the key to everything. In many towns in inland Catalonia, there has been an increase in the immigrant population, mainly from North Africa, which has changed the landscape of the streets. The djellabas and veils have multiplied in historic centers that, at the same time, have been deteriorating due to poor management by the different administrations. Unfairly, the presence of these immigrants has been associated with insecurity or the urban deterioration of these neighborhoods, and here lies the growth of xenophobic groups that take advantage of this breeding ground to become government alternatives.
Read more Manresa, about twenty young people and the fear of a city
The case of Manresa, which Mayka Navarro explains very well today in the pages of La Vanguardia , is a significant example. There are neighbors who are afraid to go out at night and coordinate in WhatsApp groups so that no woman goes alone at certain hours. This city has attracted media attention due to the crime of Carles Vilajosana, a 45-year-old man from Castellnou de Bages, very loved and appreciated among his neighbors, at the hands of two young Catalans. From the first moment, social networks and xenophobic parties that seek to grow at the expense of immigration supported the thesis that they were two menas. These parties called a protest event in front of the City Hall to stigmatize the immigrant community. The subsequent clarifications by the Interior Minister, Núria Parlón, did not prevent the racist and also simplistic discourse that exists on social networks.
Read more The apathy of the stars
The Generalitat has launched a neighborhood plan to improve urban issues and the Mossos d’Esquadra have increased their presence, but the problem goes much further. The usual crimes that occurred every day are now magnified because they are committed by immigrants, by “the others.” Representatives of the Islamic community of Manresa attended Carles Vilajosana’s funeral on Friday as a show of solidarity. But there is much to be done to overcome mistrust and, above all, when there are electoral interests in blaming immigration for the country’s problems.
