Torrox mayor demands solutions to migrants sleeping rough

Migrants

According to a press release from the eastern Costa del Sol town hall people have been found sleeping in reed beds, on beaches and under public infrastructure

Eugenio Cabezas

The mayor of Torrox, Óscar Medina (PP), called on the central government on Monday to “guarantee and ensure the safety and decent living conditions” of vulnerable migrants in the eastern Costa del Sol town. The mayor has issued his appeal following the emergence in recent weeks of makeshift shelters in various public spaces.

Medina warned that “no human being should be forced to spend the night in public spaces in extremely precarious conditions” in Torrox. According to a press release from the town hall people have been found sleeping in reed beds, on beaches and under public infrastructure – areas which, according to the mayor, “are not homes, lack any sanitary facilities and pose a serious risk to their own safety and health”.

The mayor has insisted that these are “human beings in a situation of extreme vulnerability who deserve to be treated with dignity”. In this regard, Medina has called for a situation not to be normalised which, in his view, places a burden of care on local authorities that should be addressed by the state.

Monitoring

“The central government cannot wash its hands of the fate and living conditions of these people on the ground, leaving the entire human and welfare burden in the hands of local councils such as Torrox,” said Medina. The mayor stressed that the aim must be to provide an orderly response and prevent vulnerable people from “scraping by” in conditions incompatible with human dignity.

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  • Temporrary shelters in Torrox. (SUR)

    Linares went on to argue that the operation had been carried out “without a single incident”, despite criticism from the town hall. He also pointed out that these individuals are free to move about, although many are subject to deportation orders having entered the country illegally, unless they apply for international protection or manage to regularise their status through other means.

    Medina has now expressed his gratitude for “the extraordinary humanitarian, assistance and integration work” carried out by Red Cross staff and volunteers in the town. However, he has formally requested that the Spanish government clarify “once and for all its future plans and the timeframe” for the reception facility at the El Morche hotel.

    The mayor maintains that the latest known state extensions have already been “far exceeded” and calls for certainty regarding a measure that was originally intended to be temporary. “Two and a half years on, a tourist town like Torrox requires transparent, coordinated and certain state planning,” he said.

    Medina went on to say that the policy is "based on improvisation and administrative silence" that has ended up turning temporary emergency resources into a permanent fixture which cannot be sustained.