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December 9, 2019

Madrid: Residents & Refugees Protest Xenophobic Attacks on Migrant Shelter
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Here in Madrid, more than 1,000 people gathered for a peaceful protest
Sunday near a shelter for unaccompanied refugee teenagers who have been
targeted by frequent verbal and physical attacks by right-wing
politicians and street mobs. Last week a hand grenade was thrown over
the wall of the shelter in the latest attack. The grenade did not
explode until the bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion. This is
17-year-old Abass Fofana, a refugee from Guinea-Bissau who previously
lived at the shelter.

Abass Fofana: "What people are doing right now - I no longer feel
comfortable living in Spain - it is not right. What I can say is that
people should stop what they are doing and leave immigrants alone and
let us do what we came here to do: study. Help us get a diploma and
work."

And this is Juan González Martínez, a resident of the Hortaleza
neighborhood in Madrid, Spain, where the shelter for refugee youth is
located.

Juan González Martínez: "For the past few months, the far-right-wing
political party, the fascist VOX, has put a focus on the neighborhood.
They have put a focus on targeting these youth for their own electoral
and partisan purposes."



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