The reason for this call arises from an incident that occurred on April 4, when more than 30 Senegalese workers sold their products on Ledesma Street in Bilbao. An extraordinary number of police officers, 80 officers and ten patrols attended that afternoon. The goods, backpacks and personal goods of the vendors were confiscated by the agents of the Municipal Police and the Ertzaintza, denouncing the use of physical force, including porras and threats to dogs.

This fact has outraged the migrants involved, who do not deserve to be treated in this way for trying to survive through the street sale. The viral dissemination of the videos of the facts has been fundamental to the subsequent public denunciation.

The platform denounces the abusive use of force against migrants and racists and the continued persecution of street vendors, especially in times of great tourism.

In addition, they have strongly criticised the policy of security and citizenship control, as they have pointed out that the police seem to prioritize the use of violent methods against people in vulnerable situations when the real problems related to illegal trade and high-level business activities are abandoned.

Demonstration on Thursday

With this act, they want to draw attention to the authorities and society at large, to the urgent need to address racism and police violence, especially when it comes to vulnerable communities that want to live in dignity and honesty.