Spanish views from a small town

Last Saturday the temperature rose to 44ºC/111ºF in the region of Murcia. That afternoon, a man was brought to the health clinic in a small town in a van, from which he was apparently let fall out. He soon fell unconscious. Shortly thereafter, he died of a heat stroke, and the medicalized ambulance that arrived couldn't do anything.  The 42 year old man was Nicaraguan, and here illegally. He came to Spain to escape death threats, and tried to find work not only to eat, but also to send money back home, where he left a wife and children, including a newborn he still hadn't met. He had been recruited that day by a man, who was later arrested, to go work in a field picking watermelons. Given the expected temperatures, these workers were supposed to be told to work only until midday, instead of stopping at midday and continuing in the afternoon. But this man and his companions were not told to do that.  Conditions at different farms are now being looked into. Workers are gener...

The Dreamers. There but for the grace of God...  Down the street lives a child that has gone to school with our children since first grade. Her parents don't speak English very well, and sometimes the girl has to translate for them. Instead, they speak a rapid-fire Spanish. They are good neighbors, though. We can see both parents go to work every day, and that their daughter is well-taken care of.  The child has turned into a young woman and has recently graduated from college and graduate school. She has become a social worker. Recently, with all the growing hysteria against immigrants, her parents have been staying at home more and more. Both still go to work, but other than that, don't leave the house. Their daughter has been going out to bring them necessary groceries. She only replies that they don't feel like going shopping when we ask about her parents. But one day there is a commotion, and police and other people in uniforms are at the neighbors' house. The ...

In Spain, to construct a house, you have to buy the necessary land, pay for the appropriate municipal and regional licenses and present blueprints to all and sundry for approbation. It takes time and money and patience. Sometimes, even after going through all the trouble and expense, some homeowners have to end up in the street because their homes are declared illegal for minimal reasons. The law is the law, and their house comes down. Of course, if you're trying to build a mega-hotel on the beach, it's different. Mayors will go out of their way to help you get all the necessary permits and licenses. Banks will loan you money with practically no interest to buy the necessary land and build as big as you want. You will have no problem whatsoever in this democratic country where private enterprise is encouraged. However, if you try to build your mega-hotel on protected land, be careful. Though there might be powerful people helping you, if the environmental protection groups ...

I'm guilty. I have done something that perpetuates a crime. At the same time I have helped some people that were going through a bad time. I have bought illegal shellfish. I knew at the time that it was illegal. However, I could trust it because at that time the red tide was not affecting the beaches and shellfish was begin dug up and sold legally from the same beaches. Also, shellfish from the beaches around us do not need to go to a purification plant because the water is deemed clean enough for immediate consumption of the shellfish growing in it. But the people who sold it to me had no license to dig it up and sell it. They were furtivos . A furtivo is a permanent fixture of the beaches in Galicia. You will find them mostly at night, darting on a beach, digging at low tide for clams and cockles while keeping a lookout for any guard who will send them running for the woods, hiding their merchandise to come back for it later. Because to dig for clams, cockles, and razor clams,...