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![Way back in August 2015 I chanced upon the headline, ‘Catalan Parliament votes in favour of the closure of the CIEs [Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros — Centres for Internment of Foreigners]’. The article reported a near-unanimous vote from Catalonia’s Parliamentarians in response to continuing grave human rights concerns about the arbitrary detention of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the Centres and their treatment by centre authorities and security staff. It’s the kind of headline I want so much to read about Australia’s immigration detention centres that I couldn’t help but sign up for updates — running articles through Google Translate and asking Catalan locals on Twitter for more information — even though I know there are profound differences in the two contexts. What Spain and Australia do share, though, is the policy of arbitrarily detaining people present at or inside the nation’s borders without prior authorisation from its government; a record of mental, physical and sexual abuse of people so detained, including the death of Samba Martine, Idrissa Diallo and Aramis ‘Alik’ Manukian; the ‘coincidental’ fact that the vast majority of people detained are people of colour leaving war, persecution and poverty; and the justification that such policy is necessary for the protection of the community from unauthorised newcomers. What’s more, Spain’s CIEs and Australia’s detention centre share a policy of restricting access to outside parties such as journalists and human rights monitors. As I quickly learned, those campaigning to close the centres still have some way to go. The Catalan Parliament had voted to close the Centres but the jurisdiction to do so lies with the national government of Spain. In the meantime, the people-powered movement Barcelona en Comú was elected to local government in the city of Barcelona; led by housing rights activist and now Mayor, Ada Colau (aka Buzzfeed’s ‘World’s most badass mayor’). The new city government also resolved to close Barcelona’s CIE, and has used its jurisdiction over the use of public buildings in Barcelona to open the centre to an independent assessment of its safety conditions (spoiler alert: the report found that conditions were not up to standard — from poor toilet facilities to the use of isolation cells to punish detainees). Other local governments in Catalonia have followed suit, condemning the CIEs and petitioning the government of Spain for their closure. Today, the Centres remain open, so I won’t see the headline I was really hoping for any time soon. But what is still worth talking about is the change in the will of the people towards the detention of migrants that the vote of the Catalan Parliament in 2015 and the City of Barcelona this year reflects; and the challenge that the two governments have now posed to their federal counterparts. Over a crackly Skype connection last week, I asked Cristina Fernandez from Tanquem els CIEs [Close the CIEs] about what it took. I had thought it might be mostly about persuading racists and skeptics to change their minds that detaining migrants in such a way was necessary to protect the community. However, whilst Fernandez believes racism is a problem in Spanish and Catalan society, and a contributing factor to detention policy, she says there are other factors which come first in explaining the growth in pressure to close the centres. Specifically: the growth of awareness in the general public about the abuses that were happening, the desire for Catalans to see themselves and be seen as defenders of human rights, and changes that happened in the Spanish economy. Aged 35, Fernandez has been an activist in this movement for over 15 years, and cites the images coming from Australia of the Woomera breakout (where a convergence of activists saw the fences of the Woomera detention centre in northern Australia broken down, allowing several people inside to escape) as early inspiration for trying to change the system in Spain. > _“We in civil society have worked for years to show the public the > abuse that has happened in the CIEs”, says Fernandez; > “denouncing the specific cases of people who have suffered bad > treatment which the people who have died in detention. We put the > issue on the political agenda. In this last year in particular, the > centres have become known as places where human rights are violated. > The social consensus has been built.”_ As anti-detention campaigners can attest in Australia, knowing about the abuse of migrants is one thing but considering how that makes Australians look in the international context is another. In that regard, reflects Fernandez, Catalonia’s historical and cultural difference from Spain and the current movement for independence from Spain is important, and has emboldened Catalans to distinguish their region as “a place where human rights are respected”. Then there’s the macro factors, particularly the economic crisis that hit Spain hard in 2007. Since then, the population has been less concerned about the movement of people into Spain and more preoccupied with unemployment and political corruption, with many Spanish citizens becoming migrants themselves, seeking jobs and stability abroad. “There was the worry that migrants were coming to Spain to ‘steal our jobs’ — but that was when there _were_ jobs”, Fernandez notes. Fewer people are attempting to migrate to Spain now, which also means the number of people detained in the CIEs is reducing every year. Does any of this mean anything if the Centres stay open because the national government won’t budge? Tanquem els CIEs believe that “it’s really important to obtain declarations or actions for the closure of the centres from various administrations. They have a lot of symbolic power and their declarations about the topic allow us to disseminate our position beyond our usual channels of activists and people who already agree with us.” Next on the agenda is “to communicate that even if the conditions of the centres were good, they should still be closed. They represent discriminatory treatment for the population, and they are a part of a migration model that implies the death of many people.” So what’s the lessons for those of us in Australia who want our political leaders to sound more like Ada Colau and less like Donald Trump when it comes to migration? While the political and economic context is so different to ours, the successes of Tanquem els CIEs are arguably down to the things many people are doing here to end the cruelty of mandatory immigration detention: appealing to regional and citizenship pride in how we treat newcomers; speaking out about the horrific abuses of detention to all who will listen; and finding and taking institutional political opportunities to increase pressure on the people who can mandate change. The Catalan example gives us hope that these often very ordinary efforts might contribute to bringing the justice we crave. Local governments around Australia have been taking the No Business in Abuse pledge — maybe yours could too? Make history Categories Action , Activism , Politics _Originally published at __www.thevocal.com.au__._](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:96:96/1*rhOXVKfAwlpCOko00NAx0Q.jpeg)
Way back in August 2015 I chanced upon the headline, ‘Catalan Parliament votes in favour of the closure of the CIEs [Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros — Centres for Internment of
Foreigners]’. The article reported a near-unanimous vote from Catalonia’s Parliamentarians in response to continuing grave human rights concerns about the arbitrary detention of migrants,
refugees and asylum seekers in the Centres and their treatment by centre authorities and security staff. It’s the kind of headline I want so much to read about Australia’s immigration
detention centres that I couldn’t help but sign up for updates — running articles through Google Translate and asking Catalan locals on Twitter for more information — even though I know
there are profound differences in the two contexts. What Spain and Australia do share, though, is the policy of arbitrarily detaining people present at or inside the nation’s borders without
prior authorisation from its government; a record of mental, physical and sexual abuse of people so detained, including the death of Samba Martine, Idrissa Diallo and Aramis ‘Alik’
Manukian; the ‘coincidental’ fact that the vast majority of people detained are people of colour leaving war, persecution and poverty; and the justification that such policy is necessary for
the protection of the community from unauthorised newcomers. What’s more, Spain’s CIEs and Australia’s detention centre share a policy of restricting access to outside parties such as
journalists and human rights monitors. As I quickly learned, those campaigning to close the centres still have some way to go. The Catalan Parliament had voted to close the Centres but the
jurisdiction to do so lies with the national government of Spain. In the meantime, the people-powered movement Barcelona en Comú was elected to local government in the city of Barcelona; led
by housing rights activist and now Mayor, Ada Colau (aka Buzzfeed’s ‘World’s most badass mayor’). The new city government also resolved to close Barcelona’s CIE, and has used its
jurisdiction over the use of public buildings in Barcelona to open the centre to an independent assessment of its safety conditions (spoiler alert: the report found that conditions were not
up to standard — from poor toilet facilities to the use of isolation cells to punish detainees). Other local governments in Catalonia have followed suit, condemning the CIEs and petitioning
the government of Spain for their closure. Today, the Centres remain open, so I won’t see the headline I was really hoping for any time soon. But what is still worth talking about is the
change in the will of the people towards the detention of migrants that the vote of the Catalan Parliament in 2015 and the City of Barcelona this year reflects; and the challenge that the
two governments have now posed to their federal counterparts. Over a crackly Skype connection last week, I asked Cristina Fernandez from Tanquem els CIEs [Close the CIEs] about what it took.
I had thought it might be mostly about persuading racists and skeptics to change their minds that detaining migrants in such a way was necessary to protect the community. However, whilst
Fernandez believes racism is a problem in Spanish and Catalan society, and a contributing factor to detention policy, she says there are other factors which come first in explaining the
growth in pressure to close the centres. Specifically: the growth of awareness in the general public about the abuses that were happening, the desire for Catalans to see themselves and be
seen as defenders of human rights, and changes that happened in the Spanish economy. Aged 35, Fernandez has been an activist in this movement for over 15 years, and cites the images coming
from Australia of the Woomera breakout (where a convergence of activists saw the fences of the Woomera detention centre in northern Australia broken down, allowing several people inside to
escape) as early inspiration for trying to change the system in Spain. > _“We in civil society have worked for years to show the public the > abuse that has happened in the CIEs”, says
Fernandez; > “denouncing the specific cases of people who have suffered bad > treatment which the people who have died in detention. We put the > issue on the political agenda. In
this last year in particular, the > centres have become known as places where human rights are violated. > The social consensus has been built.”_ As anti-detention campaigners can
attest in Australia, knowing about the abuse of migrants is one thing but considering how that makes Australians look in the international context is another. In that regard, reflects
Fernandez, Catalonia’s historical and cultural difference from Spain and the current movement for independence from Spain is important, and has emboldened Catalans to distinguish their
region as “a place where human rights are respected”. Then there’s the macro factors, particularly the economic crisis that hit Spain hard in 2007. Since then, the population has been less
concerned about the movement of people into Spain and more preoccupied with unemployment and political corruption, with many Spanish citizens becoming migrants themselves, seeking jobs and
stability abroad. “There was the worry that migrants were coming to Spain to ‘steal our jobs’ — but that was when there _were_ jobs”, Fernandez notes. Fewer people are attempting to migrate
to Spain now, which also means the number of people detained in the CIEs is reducing every year. Does any of this mean anything if the Centres stay open because the national government won’t
budge? Tanquem els CIEs believe that “it’s really important to obtain declarations or actions for the closure of the centres from various administrations. They have a lot of symbolic power
and their declarations about the topic allow us to disseminate our position beyond our usual channels of activists and people who already agree with us.” Next on the agenda is “to
communicate that even if the conditions of the centres were good, they should still be closed. They represent discriminatory treatment for the population, and they are a part of a migration
model that implies the death of many people.” So what’s the lessons for those of us in Australia who want our political leaders to sound more like Ada Colau and less like Donald Trump when
it comes to migration? While the political and economic context is so different to ours, the successes of Tanquem els CIEs are arguably down to the things many people are doing here to end
the cruelty of mandatory immigration detention: appealing to regional and citizenship pride in how we treat newcomers; speaking out about the horrific abuses of detention to all who will
listen; and finding and taking institutional political opportunities to increase pressure on the people who can mandate change. The Catalan example gives us hope that these often very
ordinary efforts might contribute to bringing the justice we crave. Local governments around Australia have been taking the No Business in Abuse pledge — maybe yours could too? Make history
Categories Action , Activism , Politics _Originally published at __www.thevocal.com.au__._