Residents at number 23 Calle Illa Plana in Talamanca, Ibiza, have been very concerned for days about the opening of a centre for unaccompanied foreign minors (also known as MENAs) run by the Samu Foundation. Until now, tranquillity has been part of the area's identity, which is a private residential complex with 12 semi-detached houses and a swimming pool. Residents fear that this tranquillity may be disrupted by the presence of these teenagers.
Last winter, the Ibiza Council awarded the Samu Foundation a contract to provide accommodation for 32 menas. The contract is for two years, extendable for a further two years, and is worth €13.2 million. The Illa Plana centre is part of this contract and currently houses eight minors, who are cared for by at least two members of staff, according to residents of the urbanisation who spoke to Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera.
The president of the Talamanca Neighbourhood Association, Ana Lledó, has pointed out that ‘it is a problem that is causing a lot of concern in the area.’ Lledó explained that both she and the administrator of the homeowners' association have met with representatives of the Consell to convey their dissatisfaction with this situation. ‘They have told us that everything is legal and that they have had to do this because the Consell cannot find social workers,’ she added, "we have nothing against the unaccompanied minors. Our indignation stems from the fact that we have police officers, doctors and teachers living in terrible conditions, while these children are in a luxury villa with a swimming pool. The Consell tells us that they have to be in homes, but the neighbours are very indignant."
The president of the Talamanca residents' association also explained that even the owner of the villa has warned that only seven people can reside there, according to the certificate of occupancy. ‘We have to see if a single-family home can be a residence for eight minors and two carers, even though they don't sleep there because they are working at night,’ Ana Lledó also explained. She concluded: ‘This is a private residential area where there are now more minors than residents. The issue is a hot topic and the main concern is insecurity. We are exhausting diplomatic channels, but if they don't work, we will organise neighbourhood protests.’
Insecurity
Residents in the area who have declined to be identified have explained that it is precisely the possibility of the neighbourhood becoming unsafe that worries them most. So much so that the owners of the properties at Illa Plana 23 are now considering measures such as installing security cameras on the complex's private street, as well as expressly prohibiting people from staying there late at night or playing ball. ‘It's not a place to hang out or play,’ they said, ‘it's a thoroughfare. We feel sorry for the kids because it's not their fault, but we can't understand why a centre for unaccompanied minors is being opened here when there is nothing in this neighbourhood to help them integrate. There isn't even a bus. This is not a suitable neighbourhood for the integration of these children.’
The same residents have also pointed out that, although the centre is not currently causing any problems, it is true that the children are hanging around the neighbourhood with nothing to do. And, like Ana Lledó, they have expressed their astonishment that the Consell has allowed the SAMU Foundation to set up a centre for unaccompanied minors in this location when it is ‘a property whose certificate of occupancy clearly states that only seven people can live there’. ‘The Consell has told us that the eight minors can stay with two carers because it is a special situation,’ they lamented, ‘but it is the property owner who says that only seven people can live there.’
Local residents are also concerned that unaccompanied minors are being offered the chance to live in a residential complex like this while many workers on the island currently live in caravan parks and shanty towns. «This will only serve to increase the pull factor because they are being given the red carpet treatment,» they complain. «Every day, they eat catered meals, live in a luxury residential complex with a swimming pool, and don't have to worry about anything because they have everything. If the Consell has nowhere else to put them, they should find somewhere. Why should they live in luxury when there are so many workers in settlements, and young people have to leave the island because they can't find housing? It's not normal. We feel sorry for these children because it's not their fault, but we also feel sorry that the pull factor is being encouraged, and that we have to worry about something happening.'
For VOX spokesperson Héctor Andrés at Ibiza Town Hall, «it is not normal for a covert centre to be opened in a private home.» «We fully support the residents,» he said. «This is a contract awarded by the Consell to a company, and you can't just patch things up like this. Especially when it is Pedro Sánchez's policies that are forcing us to take in these minors and care for them instead of returning them to their families. Now, the government also wants to distribute unaccompanied minors from the Canary Islands, but without including the communities of its government partners — Catalonia and the Basque Country — in that distribution. They only want to oblige some.'