By one in the morning, a dozen people are already determined to sleep on the street to be first in line. Many of them, like a 36-year-old woman from Honduras, have unsuccessfully tried to obtain their papers through various entities and see this wait as an opportunity to avoid losing more time. This woman, who works caring for the elderly without a contract, hopes to get the necessary appointment to gather her missing documentation.
“"I am fifth, tomorrow they will surely give me the appointment I need to gather the papers I am missing."
About 500 meters away, at SAIER (the municipal service for migrants and refugees), the situation is similar, although the number of people spending the night has decreased. While a few days ago there were a hundred people, now there are about ten. A Guàrdia Urbana patrol confirms that more people start arriving around four in the morning, but the overall trend is downwards.
This decrease is attributed to the fact that the deadline for submitting applications opened two weeks ago, and many have already completed their procedures. Municipal sources indicate that measures have been implemented to prevent people from having to sleep on the street, such as the distribution of tickets with turns for subsequent days and the presence of civic agents who provide information about the service. However, some users, like a 38-year-old woman from Peru, explain that they have been advised to queue all night to secure a ticket.
“"They ask for too many documents, too many. It seems they don't want us to get papers."
This woman, who works caring for an elderly person, aspires to study nursing once she obtains her papers, with the goal of getting a contract and contributing to social security. It is estimated that about 150,000 people in Catalonia could benefit from this regularization process, with about fifty points enabled in Barcelona to obtain the vulnerability report and the census registration certificate.
At the Citizen Attention Office (OAC) in Plaça Sant Miquel, near the Barcelona City Council, there are also about ten men spending the night. Some already have appointments but prefer to ensure their vulnerability report. Others, like a man from Ghana who has been in Barcelona for seven months, are queuing to get a ticket, as he has not been successful elsewhere. A mechanic by profession, he hopes to work in his sector once he has his papers, before the regularization process ends on June 30.
