Evicted Badalona migrants shelter under bridge amid rain as mayor threatens removal

Some of the 400 migrants evicted from an old high school in Badalona on Wednesday, just north of Barcelona, found shelter under a highway bridge on Saturday in the same metropolitan city.

The local council, led by mayor Xavier García Albiol, did not offer them a housing alternative after the eviction, and some slept in the square outside the old B9 high school until they were also removed from the site.

On Saturday, some were seen in an improvised campsite under the C-31 highway bridge in the low-income neighborhood of Sant Roc.

Yet, mayor Albiol vowed to remove them from the shelter. "In our city, camping is not allowed," he said talking to RAC1 radio station.

He added that authorities would show some flexibility due to the rain, but stressed that he did not want the situation to "drag on."

Badalona recorded over 50 mm of downpour on Saturday morning, and residents received an emergency phone alert for torrential rain around 1pm.

Local authorities refuse to use a homeless shelter

The Catalan government repeatedly urged the local council to find temporary accommodation for the evicted migrants in the past few days, and suggested the administration led by Albiol to reopen a homeless shelter that he shut down almost two years ago.

Yet, the local council said earlier this week that this will not be possible due to "serious structural deficiencies."

On Saturday, Catalan executive spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, repeated the plea, saying the building is owned by the local authorities, therefore it has to be Albiol who authorizes its use.

Amid the institutional showdown, social organizations gathered under 'Badalona Acull' platform (or, 'Badalona Welcomes'), demanded a "stable and safe" solution for the hundred migrants that have slept in the old high school vicinity for days after the eviction.

They hope that groups linked to the Church, such as Càritas, will soon be able to provide shelter and called on "stopping the nonsense" about which institution has to handle the social assistance.