Incidents of racism in Catalonia doubled in 2021, says SOS Racisme
Anti-racism group's annual review condemns "slow, bureaucratic" legal system
sos racisme
Anti-racism group condemns Catalonia's 'institutionalized Islamophobia'
SOS Racisme report says protocol to "monitor" Muslims exists across police, justice, education, health and social services
State of alarm 'multiplies' police impunity for racist abuses, says SOS Racisme
NGO received 12 complaints since March 16, of which 7 are related to security forces
Attacks now most common by individuals, says SOS Racisme
The anti-racism platform released its yearly report warning that “normalization” of some political dialogues affect these situations
Increase in cases treated by SOS Racisme in Catalonia
The anti-racism platform saw to 76% more cases in 2017, according to a report released on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Catalan society less discriminatory than most, say Muslim residents
Nowadays, multiple cultures, religions and traditions live side by side in the neighbourhoods of many European cities, and Catalonia is no exception, quite the contrary in fact. According to the Union of Islamic Communities in Spain, overall 1,858,409 Muslims live there. The majority of them are concentrated in Catalonia, a country with a long history of accommodating foreigners, where 509,333 followers of this religion dwell (out of a total population of 7.55 million people). Although acknowledging that individual acts of discrimination do occur, Muslims affirm that here the social climate is not filled with hatred. However, in the past few decades, 'anti-immigration discourses' have entered some isolated Catalan political parties' agendas and those whom we interviewed think that local media present a skewed picture of the Muslim community.
Foreign nationals are leaving Catalonia as amount of job opportunities dries up
Following a decade of significant increases in the amount of foreign nationals in Catalonia, it appears that many are beginning to leave as job opportunities dry up. In 2000, the percentage of foreign nationals living in Catalonia was 2.9%, while just over a decade later in 2011 this figure had increased to 15.73%. However, in the past couple of years the amount is beginning to reduce: between 2009 and 2013, 44,000 foreign nationals left Catalonia. According to the Spokesperson of non-governmental organisation SOS Racisme, Jose Peñín, immigrants are leaving as “they have less stable contracts and work in more abusive conditions”.
'SOS Racisme' warns of rising hatred in Catalonia
The NGO against xenophobic discrimination denounces that public expenditure cuts hit immigrants hardest. 'SOS Racisme' also denounces police abuse cases against immigrants and alerts on the raise of extreme-right in some Catalan towns.