Roquetas del Mar is the town in Andalucia that has grown the most over the last decade, and the fifth at a national level, according to INE. A population of 82,665, and over 42,000 vehicles matriculated in 2009. The townhall estimates that in summer the town has a population of around 130,000 people.
It’s doubled in size over the last 10 years. Still floods when it rains, tho’. And has the largest mosquitos I’ve ever seen.
Police are on full orders to be on maximum alert for trouble in the Roquetas & Poniente area. Community leaders amongst the African immigrant community have warned of “high tensions” after the recent murder of Saidi E.S. , killed by mistake by a friend in a fight. Immigrant communities are still tense after the race riots earlier this year, and low level trouble is constant between the immigrants and the Gitano communities. Almost 1 in 4 of all people registered as living in Roquetas are African immigrants.
Amazing! The Guardia, after much political and social pressure, have hitched up their trousers, taken a deep breath, and arrested the gitano who killed Ousmane Kote and thus sparked the riots in Roquetas del Mar.
Named as Juan Jose O.N., 26 years old and with the nickname “El Bollo”, was living in a small house hidden in between the greenhouses in the Los Llanos de la Canada area of Roquetas.
No further information is available at this moment. However, the last press reports from the area had suggested that the alledged murderer would be arrested “within hours” – that was on September 10th. (Read previous post about the Riots in Roquetas del Mar).
According to almost all of the press (including El Correo Español from the País Vasco – well, they should have experience in finding the disaffected ringleaders of local gangs, coming from up there) the African population of Roquetas del Mar are lying low until the police leave, ready for a huge concerted attack on the Gitano population of the area.
A chap calling himself “Kofi”, 20 years old and from Ghana, said that he and his buddies were lying low ready for the attack. “Gitanos are dangerous” he said, “but we are more. For each one of us they kill we will take 3 of their lives in revenge. They treat us like animals – and now we are cornered”.
“Spanish residents” as the press calls them, have expressed concern and some are apparantly getting ready to leave the area, believing that a mass fight will break out the minute the police leave.
The press is generally stroking up alarms across the Peninsula about local, disaffected, unemployed immigrants who have been galvanised into action by the murder of Ousmane last week. Although giving such alarmist warnings probably only helps keeps the pressure up down there. No word from the Guardia Civil or politicians as to when the extra police units will leave, which is reinforcing the impression that they’re scared it will all blow up again when they leave. No word on finding the alledged killer (Gitano), either. They look after their own…
A quiet night in Roquetas, although the Police patrols are still active in the area.
Last night a young man was arrested by the Guardia in connection with the death of Ousmane Kote, a young Marroqui (Morroccon) who according to eye witnesses was a “very active” part of the fight that lead to his death, apparantly egging the Gitanos on.
Strangely enough, still not one Gitano has been arrested. No word on when they will track down the identified killer. “Could be within hours” said one source, although nobody seems to believe him.
A quieter night for Roquetas del Mar after over 100 Guardia Civil anti riot police and a helicopter kept the overnight calm. Miguel Corpas, civil governor of Almeria has promised that the extra police units will stay until peace and tranquility return to the streets.
Meanwhile, a different story is emerging from local residents as to the cause of the original fight in which a 28 year old Senegalese man called Ousmane Kote was knifed and killed. Local reports say that a group of his friends were “hanging out” in front of a local locutorio (“phone-home” shop) when the alleged murderers threw a bucket of water over them from a second story window. Ousmane finished his phone call, came out of the shop and urged his friends to leave the scene without confronting the gitanos who were shouting at them from the window.
Shortly afterwards, he returned to the shop to make a second call, whereupon the gitanos came downstairs, confronted him, and when he refused to leave stabbed him. He was dead before the ambulance arrived.
All reports concur that Ousmane neither smoked nor took drugs; he has been described as a hard working, clean living young man. Reports also say that it took an hour and half for the ambulance to arrive along with the local police.
Local community leaders have repeated the call for the police to find the killer, saying that seeing justice to be done will help calm the situation. Bearing in mind the Guardia Civil record in hunting down Gitanos (ie, zilch – Gitanos are the only people the Guardia are scared of) I think it may be a while before they find this chap.
Just watching some rather disturbing images, live, on “Espana Directa” from Roquetas del Mar, of large groups of Police and Guardia Civil roaming the streets with large sticks and hitting black people – any groups of Africans are being broken up as soon as they form.
Local “subsaharanos“, or sub Saharan as the press are now calling them, once they realised that Africa is more then just Morrocco, have denounced that they have been condemned by the authorities and the press without trial; local community leaders said in a meeting in front of the town hall that there is “no proof” that drugs were involved in the original fight and asked why the Gitano murderer has not yet been arrested if the Guardia Civil know who he is. The mayor, dragged out to face the crowds, affirmed that to the best of his knowledge nobody has been accused of drug dealing.
Local neighbors in the area of the main trouble spots (Spanish) asked by Espana Directa, all affirm that they have never previously had any problems with their African neighbors and that they have always been perfect people, and even friends. Not sure how much of this is generated by the desire to look good on TV, but certainly people & the press (Spanish) are starting to ask why the Police attention seems to be concentrated on the Africans (Blacks) and not the Gitanos, who are after all, Spanish. At least one African was showing off a large bruise which he claimed he got when a Nacional “beat him like an animal” just because he wouldn’t go home – and it is believed that the Gitanos have been shouting up trouble in local bars, unmolested by the Police.
A further 4 subsaharanos have been arrested in relation with the riots last night, and the Guardia Civil say they are “fully prepared” for a further night of unrest. No reports that I can see of any Gitano arrests. Several barricades were manned and then broken by Police charges last night, and an ambulance was overturned and burnt. There is substantial damage to several streets to judge by the news reports.
The trouble here is that the local authorities seem to be completely unprepared for any of this, and are currently so scared of a repeat of the full blown race riots of 2000 that they are being heavy handed with the Police, who have been charged with suppressing the problems. All this is going to do is to drive the trouble back underground where it will continue to fester until the next flashpoint. How come the Police haven’t yet arrested the alleged murderer? That’s going to help calm the situation down. Just roaming the streets beating anybody who tries to congregate isn’t really community policing.
LATER
There are some videos of last nights fun over at ideal.es. Over a hundred Guardia Civil are on duty tonight in Roquetas, but I expect the rain will keep people indoors.
Sunday saw another disturbed night in the “200 Viviendas” area of Roquetas del Mar as roaming groups of North Africans (Marroquis as the Spanish press call them) clashed with groups of ethnic Gypsies (Gitanos). Guardia Civil anti riot police tried to enforce a full curfew in the area as from 22.00 hours onwards, but were unable to prevent several bloody clashes between the groups.
There were also reports of barricades being put up, some of which were charged by the antidisturbios riot police.
Mindful of the last severe race riots that shook El Ejido in 2000 and previous years, authorities have been appealing for calm, while also bussing in police reinforcements to patrol the area 24/7, and also a police helicopter. They are working with local charity and social groups to try to defuse the situation.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the original attack was in a dispute over a drug deal that went wrong. Guardia Civil have not yet arrested the alleged murderer but say they know who he is and are actively searching for him.
Meanwhile, the story has made the BBC (View Story). More good press for the area!
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