Residents near the former Palma prison: “We want to take our children to school without fear”

PalmApproximately 200 residents of Cas Capiscol demonstrated this Friday to say "no to crime" and demanded "security, civic responsibility, and respect," as well as "immediate solutions" for the former Palma prison and the nearly 300 people who live there. "We want to take our children to school without fear," "A safe environment also educates," "Neglect puts our children at risk," and "We want a well-cared-for neighborhood, not a forgotten one" were some of the slogans displayed by the demonstrators on orange banners. The president of the Cas Capiscol Residents' Association, Biel González, called for solutions for the neighborhood's residents and also for the inhabitants of the former prison. "It's very dangerous in terms of security and health," he said. He noted that in recent months, "low-intensity" acts of vandalism have proliferated. "The other day, someone snatched a neighbor's purse, and another person was mugged from behind," she reported. The children of CEIP Cas Capiscol were also at the demonstration and were demanding "security," because they suffer daily from the consequences of the tense coexistence that has recently developed between the neighbors and some residents of the former prison. "There have been robberies at the school gates, they see people loitering around the school with evidence of having used drugs, people showering in the fire hydrants, they smell tire smoke," said the school's principal, Ana Eva Álvarez. For this reason, the school has adopted a staff agreement to reinforce security at the entrances, has changed the entrance and exit doors, and has put up tarpaulins in the playground to prevent incidents. "And we want to continue like this, but that means extra reinforcement, and teachers shouldn't have to be police officers," she stated.

To put an end to the insecurity they report, they have demanded that the Palma City Council—with whom they have already met twice and will meet again next Monday—deploy "more police" to the neighborhood and guarantee the safety of the residents. Although the residents point to the old prison as the culprit for the conflict, they make a clear distinction between the people who live there because they cannot afford housing and those who create conflict in the neighborhood. "Before, the prison was occupied, and now there are stabbings and other crimes," explained Cecilia Serra, president of the Cas Capiscol Parents' Association (AMIPA). A resident of the neighborhood, who prefers to remain anonymous, stated that "there are people who have been living in the prison for many years" and asserted that, with them, "there has never been any problem." In her opinion, the conflict stems from the arrival of "two gangs that rent out cells for 300 euros and sell drugs."

Along the same lines, he dictates two clear solutions for the two profiles found within the old prison: "Those with housing problems should be helped by social services, and the mafias should be removed by the police."

"No to ghettos"

The president of the Palma Federation of Neighborhood Associations, Maribel Alcázar, "beyond security issues," rejected the displacement and social exclusion suffered by people who cannot access housing. "We cannot leave them in a ghetto; it's a dilapidated building where a mix of people with different needs are crammed together," she stated. In this regard, she has asked the Palma City Council (Cort) to carry out "more careful and specific" interventions that are tailored to the different profiles of the residents.