The picture changes every day, but on average about 60 migrants per day find the support of organized citizens and the Welcome Refugees platform, fleeing Africa (there are more on the red street). After being picked up in the south of the Spanish State, they are put on a bus and taken to Madrid, Barcelona and/or Bilbao “without considering their opinion; without asking where they have their friends, where they have their life project planned or where they want to go”, says Santxo. “Everyone is a world. They come from different countries, different roads and different situations, some of them have been transiting for three years and tell us about their relationships with mafias, the dangers experienced when crossing borders, the harsh conditions...”

Beyond mere reception, political action

From the residents of the Atxuri neighbourhood, migrants have obtained food, shelter and shelter. They stayed there for 15 nights and moved to Bilbao Viejo on 24 July. In short, one of the objectives is to expand the network and awareness in order to “make Bilbao a truly welcoming city, from the logic of proclamation and solidarity”. Beyond the mere reception, what they do is political action, Sancho explains: “Create networks in the neighborhood, revive awareness and awareness among the population, and use the responsibilities that the institutions do not assume to empower us and pressure the administration.” Among the basic needs is also the realization of companionship: “Some have psychological problems, others need a doctor, they are far from their family and the shortcomings are obvious...”

As a result of the pressure exerted, the administration funneled some money, but the group of citizens felt that it had not managed the situation well. The Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the City Council of Bilbao argue that the daily protection of refugees in transit is sufficient. The Red Cross, for example, although they have free beds, only allows them to stay for three nights, after which they are dismissed directly. And the City Council has also closed the basketball court that was used in Atxuri to provide shelter to migrants at the initiative of the citizens. Neighbors say it was never closed before.

The work carried out by the institutions “does not serve to overcome reality, they do not address their roots and continue without designing a real political strategy”. For this reason, Santxo says that migrants show contempt and mistrust for institutions, “because what they have found is indifference to them, a xenophobic and racist policy. And they are also concerned about the NGOs, which they thought would help them to reverse their situation, but they have seen that it is the citizens that we have organized and come together to support.”

“At the beginning there was a lack of confidence”

The dynamics of the month have taken their rhythm and in Bilbao Viejo they will follow the same path. Remembering the initial exchanges, “in the beginning there was a lack of trust, they moved a little away from us, they measured the words... but little by little they have been opened and now we talk about experiences and dreams.”