Caritas Exposes Human Rights Crisis in Spanish Slums Housing Moroccan Migrants

Between 2020 and 2022, fifteen fires were recorded in these slums in Huelva and Almería and caused more than 2,000 victims, Caritas said, recalling that it has been constantly alerting to the "unsustainable situation" in these slums. In a statement, it deplored the death of Alam, a 27-year-old Moroccan, killed in a fire in Lepe (Huelva) on April 21, reports El Diario.

To read: Moroccan Seasonal Workers Face Exploitation in Spain Amid Pandemic, NGOs Warn UN

Caritas stressed that the inhabitants of these slums live in deplorable conditions and that their fundamental rights are violated. They do not enjoy their civil rights and do not benefit from any social security, denounces the organization, which adds that these people live in extreme poverty and are victims of "exclusion and discrimination".

In addition to the many "irreplaceable human losses", these fires have caused significant material damage, ruining the victims who have "lost various documents and all their savings" and who find themselves in a state of "sadness and helplessness, without social protection and no help from the authorities," Caritas said in its statement, arguing that this situation "violates human rights and the social doctrine of the Church".