Garbage and graffiti devalue the Baluard del Migdia, where some homeless people shelter among historical remains
Junts urges the City Council to clean up the space “immediately” and underlines the “symbology” of the place for independence
There are t-shirts hanging on the railing that overlooks the Baluard del Migdia, a vestige of a section of the wall of the original Barcelona and fort of the last resisters of the besieged city in 1714. A homeless man peers at the stranger from inside a tent; At the other end of the esplanade that opens between large blocks of flats in front of Barceloneta, another homeless person takes a nap on a mattress at the edge of noon, sheltered in the shadow of the rather unknown historical remains.
“I had never seen them. Is this the wall of Barcelona?”, asked an occasional visitor this Wednesday, from Vilanova i la Geltrú. From the square that surrounds the monumental complex buried under the surface where pedestrians wander without noticing the heritage that survives under its feet, the woman glimpsed the accumulated waste at the foot of the old city fortification. Throughout the site, a motley blanket of rubbish is scattered: cans, food scraps, abandoned clothing, a scooter, a shopping cart, a helmet, a suitcase, an empty bottle and, also, a thrown purse are intertwined among the ashlars. The graffiti also proliferate on the walls that are centuries old. “It’s very dirty. I’m surprised he’s like this & rdquor ;, admitted the visitor.
“It’s always dirty. We complain and they come one day to clean, but then it’s the same again. It is impossible to control & rdquor ;, says a couple who reside in one of the buildings that surround the Baluard del Migdia. They confess that what hurts them the most is the homeless people who camp and roam the ruins. “There is even a whole family hanging around here. They sleep, eat, pee… They don’t bother anyone, but it’s hard to see them like this & rdquor ;, they testify.
“There have been up to four or five people sleeping simultaneously. It’s nothing new, it’s been going on for a long time & rdquor;, adds a guard who works in the area. He comments that the association of neighbors has repeatedly asked the City Council to clean up the space. “It took a long time until a brigade was sent to clean up debris. He shouldn’t have done 20 days and they left him spotless, but now he’s disgusting again & rdquor ;, laments the employee. The neighbors are now waiting to know if the council will schedule a periodic cleaning of the place.
political dispute
In addition, the degradation of the deposit has been the subject of political dispute for some time. Junts took the situation of the monumental site more than a year ago as an example of the “inaction & rdquor; which he attributes to the coalition of comuns and PSC in the protection of Barcelona’s heritage.
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“A year and a half ago we already denounced the state it was in, but now it is worse & rdquor ;, diagnoses the post-convergent councilor Jordi Martí, who believes that the dilapidated appearance of the Baluard del Migdia is “sufficient reason & rdquor; to request the resignation of the councilor of Ciutat Vella, Jordi Rabassa. In addition, he reproaches “frivolity and incompetence & rdquor; to the municipal government: “We do not understand that there is no reaction to the complaints that have lasted for months. We ask that you dignify yourself immediately. If it is not known who is dirtying it, they must set up cameras to find out who is responsible and punish them forcefully.”
Martí has emphasized the “symbology & rdquor; that the esplanade concentrates for the independence movement, being one of the parapets of the opponents to the Bourbon troops during the siege of Barcelona in the War of Succession, in the 18th century. “The spaces of 1714 must be protected & rdquor;, the councilor has postulated, who has promised that, if Junts returns to the Mayor’s Office after the municipal elections of May 2023, “one of the first actions that will be taken will be to protect this heritage & rdquor ;. Martí has not specified what alternative would be offered to the homeless of the Baluard del Migdia in the event that the sovereignist formation governs, which has yet to decide whether former mayor Xavier Trias will be his candidate or opt for another candidate.