One week after the court-ordered eviction of around 400 people from Badalona's old B9 institute, approximately 60 vulnerable individuals—mostly sub-Saharan migrants—will spend Christmas Eve under the C31 highway bridge. While the Catalan government relocated 120 to temporary housing, 50-60 remain outdoors in tents with neighbor aid, as attempts like weekend parish housing failed and criticism grows over the City Council's response.
The December 18 eviction from Catalonia's largest informal immigrant settlement at the B9 institute was ordered by court at the urging of Mayor Xavier García Albiol (PP), who emphasized it targeted illegal occupation regardless of residents' backgrounds.
Coordinated by the Catalan government with Red Cross and Cáritas, an emergency operation housed 120 vulnerable people in temporary facilities. However, 50-60 others, encamped under the C31 bridge since mid-December, face prolonged exposure this Christmas Eve. Neighbors supply food, water, and blankets.
A weekend plan to shelter 15 at Mare de Déu de Montserrat parish in Sant Crist was blocked by dozens of locals. As previously reported, evictees had occupied the closed Can Bofí Vell shelter amid heavy rains, and tensions included neighbor protests.
Younnus Dramme, an affected resident, rejected distant relocations to Girona or Lleida: "We want solutions, not complications." Activist Vicky Columba decried "dehumanization" toward Black people, citing one-week emergency lodging limits.
Social Rights Counselor Mònica Martínez Bravo noted ongoing discreet placements for identified vulnerables. Plataforma Sant Roc Som Badalona's Carles Sagues criticized absent morning aid and failed regional transfers.
Albiol calls the conflict "resolved or almost resolved" via collaboration, but opposition accuses him of racism, with Podem Catalunya and MEP Jaume Asens filing Prosecutor complaints for potential discrimination, hate, and malfeasance. Cáritas Catalonia director Eduard Sala condemned the parish blockade and called for empathy.
