Spanish speaking children around the world are in for a bit of disappointment it seems this Navidad. In a lighthearted communique from the Leganes Assembly in Madrid, King Balthasar is rumored to have been arrested at one of the hundreds of racist immigration Police checkpoints that have popped up all over Madrid during the past couple years, in which the Police demand documents from anyone and everyone that looks, acts, or speaks just a little differently from the norm. I am not sure if Balthasar was responsible for bringing the gold, frankincense, or myrrh to the Baby Jesus, but I do know that many a Spanish speaking niño y niña will be shedding tears this year after finding empty shoes in their living rooms -- pobrecitos! Sorry niños, perhaps the remnants of racism still left over from the days of Francisco Franco still prevalent in the Spanish police force will be eliminated by next Christmas. Enjoy the translation!
KING BALTHASAR DETAINED AT RACIST CHECKPOINT
The Wise Man Balthasar was detained this morning at 10:30 at a racist checkpoint at the regional train station in Leganés (Madrid).
After asking for his documentation and confirming that he was carrying nothing more than gifts, the police immediately hauled him off to the local precinct, from which he soon after was moved to the CIE (Center for Detainment of Foreigners) in Aluche. Here he will have to stay for 60 days until his order of expulsion to his country of origin has been approved.
According to an official statement by the Spanish authorities, the King's "irregular" situation in Spain, and the fact that he was carrying merchandise of dubious origin (frankincense and myrrh), and the fact that he was seen "stumbling" through the streets, paves the way for executing the expulsion order early, perhaps in the next few weeks.
The other two Magi, Gaspar and Melchior, who were with King Balthasar at the time of his arrest, avoided problems with the police by acting as witnesses to the detention, and perhaps aided by the fact that they were not asked for their documentation due to their "more European look."
This is becoming an every day occurrence in Spain -- with more and more detentions in which people are identified, stopped, and detained, solely based upon certain "physical characteristics."
For several years now, these practices have been denounced by several collectives and associations because they consider these checkpoints to be illegitimate and illegal, according to various articles in the Spanish Constitution (Art. 14: right to liberty and privacy) and other diverse treaties and international agreements signed by the Spanish Government (Report from the UN Committee on Human Rights 2009, etc.)
On another note, we must also denounce the existence of "Spanish Guantanamos," known here as CIEs (Center for the Detainment of Foreigners), where people are held until their expulsion, due to papers not being in order, or perhaps due to not having papers at all because of an administrative error (and no crime has been committed) such as not paying a traffic fine. For several years now, the Foreigner Detainment Centers have systematically violated the human rights of the detainees (beatings, psychological humiliation, denial of medical care, overcrowding, etc.) while the authorities and Media in Spain have remained silent. In a recent European Parliamentary Report, the Spanish Foreigner Detainment Centers were listed among Europe's worst.
We remind readers that just this past month of December, Congolese citizen Samba M. passed away, and currently our own Leganes neighbor Youssou S. has spent several weeks in detention at the Foreigner Detainment Center in Aluche. According to the Juzgado
de Instrucción número 6 dictó en auto from December 20 concerning the situation at the Aluche detainment center, "the death is not surprising due to the current situation at the Center where there are completely inadequate quarters...., such that it is not surprising at all from the point of view of this Technician, that infectious diseases such as meningitis can easily run rampant in this facility."
The report also states that "there isn't even an infirmary, where sick detainees can be isolated from the healthy," and the report ended with, "it has been ordered that detainees be allowed to relieve themselves during the night," however to this day, the Center still does not permit nocturnal bathroom visits.
From the Assembly in Leganes, we will defend the rights of every individual looking for an inviolable dignified future for himself/herself and his/her family. Just like young Spaniards who go abroad in search of a better future, migrant populations in Spain have the right to progress, work and a dignified life.
Read Original Version in Spanish Here (Leer version original en Espanol)
I'm not surprised that the detention centers have such conditions. When I went there to pick up a resident card I was surprised to see that the address for the center in Aluche did not have a number, on their official document they just specify a street name. So if it weren't for the people holding papers in their hands coming from that direction, I don't know if I would have found the place. And once there I was disgusted with the conditions in which the immigrants have to wait. There's no number system where you can have a seat and wait, no no, you have to wait outside of the building, in a long line, or under a white tent. In no other country have I experienced a lower treatment. And why this establishment is all the way in Aluche beats me, are trey ashamed of us immigrants? I don't know but it's quite a hassle to get there and to find the place.
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