Joan Mateu Parra

Photojournalist

During the year 2020, there were 5,737 evictions in Catalonia, 1,028 of which were in Barcelona (data collected from the Consell General del Poder Judicial). This, over time, has caused an overall average of 15 evictions per day, most of which were sentenced due to the nonpayment of rent. Rent that has been increased by a 44% in the last five years. Actually, Catalonia is the autonomous community of the Spanish State leader in eviction rankings.
                   The pandemic has seriously affected the economy, resulting in the destruction of many work places. Many people and families cannot afford the market rent price or their mortgages so they stop paying them. The “Sindicat d’Habitatge”’s (hous- ing union) assemblies from different Barcelona neighborhoods are filled with peo- ple that have to deal with this type of problems. This housing movement protests in front of the doors of the houses the day of the evictions and offers possible alternatives to the families that are being evicted, helping them to squat empty buildings owned by the bank or by “vulture” funds.
                   These situations are human tragedies that do not only occur a thousand kilome- ters away from home but also in the streets of Barcelona, every single day, to our neighbors. Such situations have even become daily and normalized.
                   This series of photographs is a sample of some of the many cases I covered in the city of Barcelona from the autumn of 2020 until the summer of 2021. A local pho- tographic project in which, unfortunately, I’ve worked almost daily and it seems to be only the prelude to a problem entrenched in time. A project in which you work.
                   * Some of these photos have been published by The Associated Press.