Delgado, in good shape, says that at 50 he made “a slowdown & rdquor; and that’s why it’s fine, although he shows the package with a smile: he hasn’t stopped smoking. Eugenio is 71 years old, will turn 72 on August 24, and often lowers his voice, as if telling a secret. He sleeps on two thin mattresses in one of the bunks in the Montjuïc pavilion, the second one that the Barcelona City Council opened so that the homeless could be confined.
Before arriving at the pavilion, he spent two weeks on the street. He came from living in a room in Horta. Confining himself there, he says, was not a plan. He paid 250 of the 550 euros he receives as help for the room. Too much, he stresses. “I’ve been here two months. It has become long and what remains. We left three hours from Monday. I go out from five to eight in the afternoon. When I come back I change my clothes, shower, eat and sleep. Sometimes I have to ask them to turn down the television a little, they close it at 12 at night & rdquor ;.
Life in the pavilion
Eugenio is one of the more than 200 homeless who temporarily reside in one of the Fira de Barcelona pavilions. He has been there for two months. This Wednesday, the consistory allowed the media to visit the site. Judit Deprez and Arcadi Minguet are the co-directors of the center, which manages the Fundació Salut i Comunitat. They tell how it works: all the guests receive clean underwear and a T-shirt every day. And when they go out, new clothes to avoid possible contagions. Since daily outings are allowed, therefore, touch new clothes every day. Until last Monday, it was forbidden to leave: he who left could no longer return.
Each person who enters the temperature is taken, and those who are inside, twice a day: coinciding with breakfast and dinner. The enclosure is divided into three modules, A, B and C, each with its dining room. Meal shifts are 25 people each time. There is a patio on the Llobregat side to go out to smoke and stretch your legs: with the rains a wall came down and it was time to open a second outdoor space on the Besós side.
Although the capacity is 225 places, 210 are occupied. The other 15 are reserved for isolation: they have been used in some cases in which there have been peaks of fever, due to an infection by a tooth, or by angina, to ensure that there was no COVID-19 positive.
At 7.45 the lights open. At 23:30 they close. There are bunk beds with two beds, but only one is occupied. “There have been small disputes but coexistence is good, says Deprez. Minguet cites Ramadan as an example: he assures that Muslims and non-Muslims have shared some nightly meals: a special schedule has been set up for them in view of the fact that during this period they cannot eat during the day.
Back home
Eugenio is very grateful for having this welcome, but he is not happy with the food, although he does not complain: “On the street you don’t eat, here you do & rdquor ;. He claims that there have been some fights and that they have kicked people out: “They are always the same & rdquor ;. He has plans for the future: going to a town. First, he does not specify which one, perhaps Mora d’Ebre, speculates.
Then it is clearer: he wants to return to his town, Aniñón, near Calatayud, in the province of Zaragoza. She has not visited him since she left with her parents in the direction of Barcelona, at the age of six. There were five brothers, he does not maintain contact. He was a mechanic, he worked in construction. He did carpentry courses.
In town everything is more affordable, he stresses. He plans to go there in late summer, to see how the situation is. If you like it, you can trust finding affordable housing. You have saved money these months. What is clear to him is that he wants to leave Barcelona. He makes an annoyed gesture: “This is an agglomeration. I want to go to die in my town, where I was born. I am maño. It is that Barcelona is already built. Everything is done here & rdquor ;.
Raúl, formworker
Raúl, 44, was born in Sabadell. He was a formworker and now he has no job: he needs to find a job. He has three herniated discs and says that’s why the litter kills him. He regrets that the rain damaged some of his belongings. All are kept in tents that the Army maintains outside the pavilions. He is more critical than Eugenio with food.
Raúl is not satisfied with his situation, he thinks it is not fair, and with a pout of bitterness he remembers a phrase from his mother: “She said: the hen above shits on the hen below. He was right & rdquor ;.
José, Honduran, 47 years old, has been in the pavilion since Saturday. “I came from sleeping on the street, in the Vall d’Hebron area. I had never been on the street before. It happens badly: at first I was afraid. I separated from my wife and everything started to go wrong for me. He is thrilled to have found refuge: “This is excellent. What a difference. The treatment is good, you make friends. Everyone very well. I will stay until they close & rdquor ;. He also likes food. José affirms that he will stay in Barcelona. He prefers not to be photographed.
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