Alex Trelinski
MIGRANTS have been found sleeping rough in Valencia after arriving from Barcelona with their bus and train fares paid by the Catalan capital’s council.
Valencia council social workers speaking to sleepers in the Turia Garden area have been told about the free tickets, according to the La Razon newspaper.
It therefore suggests that homeless people are being ‘palmed off’ by Barcelona authorities, who have not commented.
READ MORE:
- ‘Special plan’ unveiled to assist plight of homeless people in Spain’s Valencia
- Homeless man dies at Madrid airport: 60-year-old was one of 500 people sleeping rough inside the travel hub
- Homeless crisis in Malaga: Red Cross report says hundreds of people are living on the streets of the Costa del Sol city
- Body of homeless man found floating in port waters of Spain’s Valencia
Many arrivals use the large Turia area as the best place to spend the night with shelter from the elements provided by the various bridges.
Around a hundred migrants are said to stay there each evening.
The city’s Social Services councillor, Marta Torrado, made no direct comment over the Barcelona tickets but instead blamed property rent rises on increasing numbers of rough sleepers.
Torrado told La Razon: “They are seasonal workers who may be fruit pickers but don’t have enough to rent a property due to high rental costs.”
“We do help them by even advancing several months of rent but landlords prefer not to take them in over what will happen over the rest of the rental period and will not risk it,” she added.
The council also has municipal shelters offering a thousand places a night with over 90% of them occupied daily.
It says that many people still won’t use them as they can’t bring all of their belongings.
They may have cooking units or even a sofa found on a waste tip, but don’t want to lose them if they stay in a shelter.
Another issue for the rough sleepers in the Turia is that of health, with rats being spotted and the homeless suffering from insect bites.
Valencia’s cleaning councillor, Carlos Mundina, told La Razon that he could not comment on that since it was not within his brief, but if cleaning staff detected pests, then they would report to that an appropriate department.
“We empty accumulated rubbish including food remains to prevent the spread of insects or rats,” he commented.
Mundina also emphasised that if staff see a tent used by a homeless person, it is not removed.
