No one at Ripoll forgets where they were six years ago. On August 17, 2017, residents of this municipality of 10,000 inhabitants (according to Idescat 2022 figures) discovered to their horror that six Moroccan children, who had grown up and integrated in this town at the foot of the Pyrenees, had committed a massacre. terrorist attack Incidents in Barcelona and Cambrils that killed 16 and injured 160. Many agree that “Something broke inside of me”. No one noticed radicalization of these six youth He said that they carried out the jihadist massacre under the leadership of Imam Abdulbaki Es Satti.
After 17-A, Ripoll came up with a cohabitation plan that came to naught due to lack of budget.
Six years later, this wound is far from healed. Xenophobia erupted like pus on everything. The result of the municipal elections held on 28 May, won by Silvia Orriols from the far-right pro-independence Aliança Catalana formation, racism It took years to build.
“Ripoll refrained from discussing the attacks publicly and this helped to establish the fascist message”
neighbors after 17-A they wanted to bury the pain underground and then the epidemic only hurt more. “As a society, we haven’t had the opportunity to treat them,” complain municipal workers, who devised a plan to bind up the wounds.
That summer, after the jihadist attacks, Ripoll was filled with politicians and experts with one obsession: that coexistence remains intact, that people continue to live in peace. What worried him the most was returning to school only a month after the attack. “In the classrooms terrorists had brothers He said they were not responsible for what happened. Classes were supposed to start normally,” recalls a municipal technician. we feared a holy war at the school gates. It didn’t happen and we’re all relieved,” says the former mayor Jordi Munell.
kids making bombs
Ripoll’s racist disclosure came to light six years later. He did this in the elections. Catalan AllianceThe only ultra party to run for municipal elections in 2019 tripled the result of xenophobic parties. What changed?
“It all started when we learned the details of the summary of the attacks. Videos of children making the bombs had a brutal effect and many began to see the immigrants in anger,” says a municipal social worker. This The pandemic and inflation fueled the fire. “The closure has made us individualistic, selfish, there is more fear, especially among the elderly”To add.
“They’re afraid of immigrants, of the unknown. They see the town changing and nobody talks to them about it,” says one mosso.
Over the last six years, 400 immigrants have come to Ripoll, which has grown from 10% of the population to 13%. Many have insecure jobs: cleaners, cooks, foresters, workers in slaughterhouses or a few standing factories. Ripoll has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Catalonia (7.8%). Others without documents cannot work legally and need social assistance.
Maghreb population Amazig and Berber. “They’re not cosmopolitan, they’re comes from rural areassome are ignorant and very traditional,” say social educators. They fill the void left by the town’s youth. they run away to Vic or Barcelona to work and study. And they live together 25% of the population is over 65 years old. “With a conservative spirit and almost medieval thinking,” according to social workers. According to a few local politicians, these are the traditional voters of the former Convergència and Junts who have switched to the Orriols ultra rhetoric. “They’ve seen stores, industries close… and these businesses are being replaced by migrant businesses. They’re losing their privileges.”
Therefore, the digestion of the attack has turned into a nightmare. Mossos saw it too. “We have the lowest crime rates in Catalonia but IThe feeling of insecurity is very high: attacks are not free and many people are afraid of immigrants, of the unknown. They see that the town has changed and no one tells them about it,” a policeman comments to this newspaper. parents say education level has dropped“.
No way to live together
Already in 2017, many warned that this could happen. Ripoll has prepared a coexistence plan that includes concrete actions to be taken. “Both of them older than Ripoll aspect Moroccan community They are closed and conservative. You had to mix them up, get to know each other, and overcome obstacles to avoid confrontation. We needed resources and political will. No one was interested, we couldn’t do it either,” the municipal employees complain. “We asked for money, but our budget remained the same as before the attacks,” they complain. not many people came,” they riveted.
The teachers interviewed problem not solved in classrooms unless children want it. “There was no conflict or very obvious rejection,” says one school principal. “We crossed a thick curtain, we didn’t bother in classA teacher from the Abat Oliba public institute continues. we put dirt on it and wash dirty clothes at home, nothing happened here. This helped to establish the fascist message and to fuel hatred”, he summarizes. Carmen Brugarola Member of the Ripoll Unit Against Feixism and Racism.
“We left behind a thick curtain and didn’t discuss the issue at school”
While the administrations are not talking about the attack, Sílvia Orriols stood with a tent that spread fear and distrust towards immigrants every sunday. He asked for their phone number and set up a WhatsApp group where he shared conflicts with immigrants even though he wasn’t on Ripoll. “No one fought it”, they assume brugarola And munell. “We didn’t want to care, we thought people wouldn’t mind.”
What happened in 17-A in schools was handled with workshops in the first year. groups with teachers. “An employee of Educació’s regional services in Ripollès mourned the death of his students, it was a forbidden pain,” says Educació in 2018. pilot project it’s already over. “Our obsession everyone has the same opportunities. We learned from the attack that there were children who felt second-class,” says Munell, the former mayor.
The money contributed by the Generalitat, 70,000 euros per year, was dedicated to social services. The same thing happened in civic centers. “We didn’t go any further, unpaid extracurricular projects are monopolized by immigrant children. There was no coexistence,” says one worker.
“Social benefits are very good but We are not talking about coexistence or immigration.… of the issues that need to be addressed at Ripoll,” insists one expert employee. These professionals continue to highlight lack of tools. Ripoll is owned by municipalities. Less spending on education in Catalonia and it doesn’t count with public mental health centers. “Neither the psychological consequences of the attack, nor the others, are treated,” the Educació employee insists.
The discrimination, stigma, suspicion and resentment that Ripoll has experienced is not obvious. But talk to your neighbors to see the enormous divide that exists. The town’s few social assets They have already set to work voluntarily to implement what governments have not done. “We have no other choice. The town’s future is at stake,” said those involved.
Ripoll is the bed of two rivers, which has been a transit area since the middle ages. This is evidenced by more than 15 bridges holding the municipality together. Those who unite neighbors today are broken.