World
Dozens of migrants smashed furniture and climbed up the roof of a detention center in Spain’s Madrid on Tuesday, protesting against the living conditions in the facility. The protesters were unarmed, and there were no reports of anyone getting injured. Spain, which has set up eight detention centers to hold illegal migrants, has faced repeated scrutiny from humanitarian agencies over its under-resourced, overcrowded and filthy shelters for the detainees.
Madrid councilor Javier Barbero said that the protest might have erupted due to authority’s decision to deport some of the migrants, reports the BBC. Echoing the calls from many human rights groups, Barbero described the detention centers as “failed institutions.”
Worried at the events in the detention center, Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmena offered her assistance in negotiating with the migrants, writes France 24. Prison-like conditions in detention camps leave the migrants in severe distress, prompting them to act violently to get their plight known.
Earlier this month, a group of 67 migrants held in a detention center near the southeastern city of Murcia, fled the facility. Observers have repeatedly condemned the operation of detention centers that have overcrowded rooms, dirty toilets and lack any social assistance like translation help for the captives.
