Spanish students have been “left out on the street” after being given just 24 hours to vacate their dormitories in order to make way for ‘Aquarius’ migrants.
Authorities told residents of the Florida de Alicante university accommodation, which reportedly costs students 750 euros rent per month, that the property had been chosen by Valencia’s regional government to house around 100 so-called unaccompanied minors who the NGO boat delivered in Spain at the weekend.
The country’s new Socialist regime went out of its way to invite the Aquarius to dock in Valencia after Italy’s recently elected populist coalition turned away the boat carrying more than 600 migrants, who largely hail from West African nations and Bangladesh.
The short eviction notice was issued at a time when a large proportion of residents living in the property’s en suite dormitories face an “intensive” period of study, according to local media.
Reports of the move were treated as false information at first, said news portal Intereconomia, until the regional government in Valencia confirmed it was evicting the students “as a measure of emergency”.
The mother of one of the students, whose son needs to complete his German course in order to be able to take up a job offer, said that the eviction has thrown his studies into chaos.
“My son finishes his course in November, but he and other students have been told their [accommodation] will be used to house Aquarius migrants and that they cannot be there because they [the migrants] come with many diseases, it’s for a health issue,” she said.
“[The government] is causing suffering by robbing Peter to pay Paul, and it is a big problem for us as there is nowhere in Alicante for my son to live while he continues his studies,” she said. “We are going to have to try to find somewhere, but it will be very difficult since everything is booked up for the Summer holidays.”
Expressing doubt over the authorities’ claim that every student must vacate the building due to the risk of catching disease from newcomers, the woman questioned why local government would choose to house migrants “in the centre of Alicante, just as large numbers of people are about to be celebrating San Juan festivities”, if there was a public health issue.
She added: “We are not opposed to giving help to people in need, but it is not fair that my son is kicked out of his accommodation and left on the street in the middle of his studies, especially when he needs to complete the course so he can go to work in Germany.”
On Tuesday, Breitbart London reported that police in Alicante arrested a Moroccan migrant on suspicion of committing a series of sexual assaults in the city, where he is accused of following children under 18 and attacking as they entered their homes.