Over 300 denounce racism in Barcelona: 'Being an immigrant is not a crime'
Demonstrators call for all migrants to be welcomed same way as Ukrainian refugees
Over 300 people participated in an anti-racism protest in Barcelona on Saturday to demand that all migrants receive the warm welcome Ukrainians have experienced in Catalonia and other parts of Europe following Russia's invasion of their country.
Organized by the Unity Against Fascism and Racism (UCFR) group, demonstrators called for an end to racism and wars and chanted slogans such as "being an immigrant is not a crime."
"We want to fight against the institutional racism that locks people up in migrant detention centers and deports people and strips migrants of their rights," said Victoria Columba of the #RegularizaciónYa movement that seeks residency for the undocumented.
"While Ukrainian refugees are being welcomed, we continue to beat up other refugees who try to jump a fence and who are full of cuts and people are drowning in the Mediterranean," she said.
"We want everyone to be welcomed the way Ukrainians are," Iolanda Maurici of UCFR added.
According to Maurici, "racism is tied to the rise of fascism. If we let one grow, the other does as well." Many protesters could be heard chanting against the far-right party, Vox, as well as Spain's immigration law and in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement.
There was also a signature drive as the protest organizers hope to present Spain's Congress with a popular legislative initiative in September to grant half a million irregular migrants residency.
Without residency paperwork in order, the undocumented are forced to work in the submerged economy, "complicating" their existence, a representative of Street Vendors Union (Sindicat de Manters) said.
A number of left-wing politicians were present alongside rights activists, including Esquerra's Najat Drjouech, Dolors Sabater of CUP, or Jess González and Gerardo Pisarello of En Comú Podem.
Filling the Sink podcast
Many migrants coming to Catalonia from lower-income countries find themselves doing precarious summer work, such as harvesting fruit in the fields around Lleida, or selling goods on the streets of Barcelona and other cities. Press play below to listen to the podcast episode released last summer on this issue.
