“Go to your goddamn country”, “what disgusting clothes are you wearing”, “go give birth to your country”, “If you take one more step, I will give you one step that you cannot get off the ground” — security personnel prevent a man from passing because he is wearing a veil.
Facts point to a possible hate crime. The incident dates back three weeks, when the National Police and Fadila Said took her children to this pool with a friend. “I reached the door, my friend passed but I couldn’t. They asked if I was wearing a swimsuit. I said no, I only came to wash my children. Then they told me I couldn’t enter,” she recalls. Her friend, not wearing a swimsuit, passed by without issue, as many women with children did that day.
“I asked for an explanation for the denial, and they began insulting me. She returned to the same pool last Friday. They stopped her again and when asked if she was wearing a swimsuit, she showed them and said she would bathe this time. They told her that wouldn’t be allowed either,” she recalls.
Then, “a Black boy arrived, claiming he needed to change before entering. He wore a swimsuit, yet they sent him away,” she says. As in the previous occasion, more women swam with their children while tensions rose. “All I asked was a clear explanation. Why me and not others? Finally, they called the police,” Fadila states.
When the officers arrived, the conversation escalated and the guards hurled racial insults at Fadila. “Go to your goddamn country” or “what disgusting clothes are you wearing.” They even threatened violence if she did not leave. “I stepped outside to sit on a bench, but they sprayed me with water to make me move,” she adds.
Valencia city council says it has already informed the concession company that runs the pool. The company reportedly claimed that Fadila was attempting to bathe in street clothes, which is forbidden.
Fadila condemned the incident and believes strongly it was racially motivated. She is Saharawi and has lived in Spain for 22 years. That day she visited the pool with a Moroccan friend. “She wore a summer dress and had very fair skin. Although her bra straps were visible, she wasn’t barred from entry while she observed the rules. I asked for an explanation, and she was allowed in,” they claim.
“Mom I don’t want to be black anymore”
What distressed Fadila most was that her 5 and 8-year-old children witnessed the event. It caused her son anxiety and a need for medication to calm him down after the incident.
“When I got home, my son looked up at me and said, ‘What nonsense about being Hispanic or having a Spanish identity,’ and then he told me, ‘Mom, I don’t want to be Black anymore.’ Not shyly; he is typically proud of his background, but that day he expressed not wanting to be Black or Arab,” Fadila laments.
The security staff also described Fadila as “confrontational” and warned that “there are many gypsy women at the pool, and if we gather them in half an hour it will be messy.”
Her children continue to talk about the experience. “They felt something they were not prepared for. Now I take off my veil and they are worried they might not be allowed to enjoy themselves. They ask if this will always happen to us,” she says.
“Negotiation is over”
The guards referenced political changes that brought Vox into government, saying, “Your bargain is over, they will break your wings from now on.”
Ana Isabel Martínez of the NGO Valencia Refugi notes a rise in hate speech and hate crimes since May 28, with remarks like, “Now they feel empowered whenever there is talk of a government change, because they believe their actions are valid.”
Fadila, who has not faced such intense racism in 22 years in Valencia, notes more discriminatory comments in recent years. “I hear things from young mothers at the public school my kids attend, including ugly remarks telling me to go back to my country because the economy is bad and I don’t belong here.”
Juan Augusto Epam of Valencia Refugi adds that the reporting process is flawed. “We found out later that Fadila had a sheet listing names, phone numbers, and addresses of those who threatened to assault her. We think there should be a safer system for victims,” he explains.
The authorities call on citizens to cooperate. “It’s common for people to look away in these moments. If you witness something like this, stand with the victim. None of the women who entered the pool that day offered help,” they say.
Underreporting
Underreporting is a major issue. The Prosecutor’s Office estimates that only one in ten hate crimes is reported, due to ignorance, fear, or fear of deportation. “Many immigrants retreat during the process because they lack a criminal record for paperwork renewals, they fear, and they drop the complaint even though they were the ones affected,” Martínez notes.
People without documents worry about deportation when reporting to police. In such cases, institutions recommend filing complaints with the prosecutor’s office for hate crimes directly.