Evictions: The Bitter Face of Catalunya

Evicted families in Terrassa and members of the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH) in the home of Irma Espinosa, age 62 with her daughter Sali Arreaga, age 24, both born in Ecuador.
The home of Carlos and Veronica. Supported by the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH) of L’Hospitalet, they await for the court order for eviction.
The home of Carlos and Veronica. Supported by the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH) of L’Hospitalet, they await the court order for eviction.
Books and photographs in a flat in the neighborhood of Sagrada Familia. An elderly woman awaits the court order for eviction from her home.
Evicted families in Terrassa and members of the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH). Luis Vera from Ecuador, age 50, with his children Mariela, age 15, and Luis Fernando, age 20, have occupied a building that housing other families in the same situation.
Members of the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH) in action in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. Carlos and Veronica are supported by the PAH of Hospitalet while they wait for the court order for eviction.
Show of support from the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH) towards Carlos and Veronica of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
Members of the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH) of L´Hospitalet de Llobregat occupy Barclays Bank, the branch in Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona to show support to a collegue.
September 2012, Barcelona. Following the suicide of Miguel Angel Domingo from Granada, there were many shows of support throughout the country.
Members of the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH) comfort a friend who waits for a court order of eviction.

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“Four Mossos (Catalan police) arrived along with three state officials and a locksmith to change the lock. I was home alone with my boyfriend, waiting for them.  We left our home, leaving our belongings behind and they changed the lock. Three days later, we went back and this time we were the ones to change the lock”.  Sali Arreaga, age 24, and her family, have been living for almost one year as squatters in their home in the N’Anglada neighborhood of Terrassa.

Three of the four people who make up Sali’s family lost their jobs and could no longer afford to pay their mortgage.  Soon after they moved back into their flat they recalled the fear of being evicted.  One year later, however, that fear is gone.  They are now decided that if they were to be evicted again, they would simply move back in or find another apartment to occupy.  They have no alternative.  The majority of their belongings remain packed in boxes just in case.

For many families, waiting for eviction is just terrible.  Outside on the street, neighbors gather to lend their support, but inside is evidence of preparations in case things go wrong – everything is packed into bags and boxes. Carlos and Veronica, from Hospitalet, wait inside their home, in silence. They made sure their two daughters were not present, so to spare them the experience. Outside there is noise, picket signs, shouting.

Luis Vera’s family also lost their home because they could no longer afford their mortgage. “I wish I had never bought the apartment and just kept renting”, he laments.  In December 2011 during a demonstration organized by the Movement of Mortgage Victims (PAH in its Spanish acronym) in the town of Terrassa, a group of neighbors occupied an entire apartment block, with 11 empty apartments.  One of the apartments will house his family.  As in so many other instances, the solidarity among neighbors has been essential in getting his family off the streets. “One hand washes the other”, says Luis, who never misses a move the PAH makes.

The work of the PAH has been fundamental in stopping numerous evictions in cities and towns throughout the country. They have staged protests outside homes the  courts have ordered with eviction.  Their solidarity is of utmost importance to families that are about to lose their homes and who are on the verge of losing it all. PAH provides clear evidence that social organizing does work. The demonstrations organized by PAH receive the support of neighbors, affected families and activists.   Aside from preventing evictions, they have also taken the protests into the banks which refuse to accept mortgage debt forgiveness after an eviction.  

The drama evoked by foreclosures and evictions does not always come to light.  Miguel Angel Domingo from Granada, committed suicide in his home before he was to be forced out.  People came out across the country to express their outrage over his suicide.

Text: Jordi Mumbrú

 

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2011
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