Shantytowns in Andalusia

Reportage / Documentary

Shantytowns in Andalusia

Andalusia is one of the main horticultural regions in Europe.
For more than 25 years, this has attracted a large number of immigrants, mainly sub-Saharans and Moroccans seeking a better future for themselves and their families.
Because many have no papers and because of the difficulty of access to housing in the area, they are forced to live in shanty towns in settlements where conditions are totally contrary to the most basic human rights.

A few months ago, the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament submitted a petition to the European Commission, promoted by IU and several NGOs in the area, which has decided to investigate the situation in the area, because the people living in these settlements in most cases do not have access to the most basic services and their fundamental rights are constantly violated.

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Exterior view of the shack where Emmanuel and Peter live, two Ghanaian men without legal papers who survive on odd, low-paid jobs in the area's greenhouses.

Emmanuel, in the foreground, suffers from mental problems due to the psychological pressure he has been under for a long time because of the conditions in which he finds himself. As he has no legal papers, he can go for long periods of time without a job to cover his most basic needs.

Inside view of the shack where Peter and Emmanuel are living.

Peter is cooking for him and Emmanuel on a hot summer evening. The temperature in the shack and the humidity are sometimes unbearable.

View from inside a shack in the shanty town in the area of Níjar, Almería.

Ali is a young Ghanaian living in a shanty town in the Nijar area. A few weeks ago half of the settlement went up in flames and many people lost their few belongings. In addition, two people were injured.

Most of the shacks are made of plastic and wood, so fires due to electrical faults or accidents are common.

View of a street of the shantytown where most of the shacks are made of plastic and wood, so fires due to electrical faults or accidents are common.

Inside view of a new shack that is under construction. Due the large number of fires in this shanty towns, some NGO of the area brought to the migrants bricks to build stronger shacks.

Inside view of a new shack that is under construction.

A Moroccan woman collects water at the communal fountain in a settlement in Nijar. Both electricity and water have been manipulated in most of these settlements to make them accessible to everyone.

Inside view of a shack in Atochares camp, where a migrant guy is living.

A group of boys of Moroccan origin are filling their water jugs at a fountain in the camp next to the cemetery in Lepe.

View of the rubbish chute where people living in the camp dump their waste.

Ibrahima (19) looks out from the camp at a block of flats a few meters away. Access to housing for these undocumented young people is really difficult.

Portrait of Ibrahima (19) in front of his hut. He is constantly moving around Spain in search of work in the different cities where there are greenhouses with a lot of production, such as Almería, Lleida or Granada.