Shanty town torn down by Spanish authorities
A handful of shacks were torn down Tuesday morning under the orders of Madrid’s town planning board, who considers them to be illegal dwellings. Several hundred Roma people live in precarious conditions, without running water or sewage services, in “El Gallinero”, just 15 km away from Madrid’s centre. The inhabitants live in ramshackle huts made out of cardboard and zinc in an area prone to flooding.
(Photos by Susana Vera/Reuters)
1. Giorgi Placintario caresses his nephew’s puppy “Leo” as he sits next to the few belongings he was able to salvage before his shack was demolished in the shanty town settlement of “El Gallinero”, in the outskirts of Madrid June 18, 2013. Placintario moved to “El Gallinero” in 2002 and it’s the second time his home has been torn down.
2. Leon removes belongings from his family’s roof before their home is torn down in the shanty town settlement of “El Gallinero”, in the outskirts of Madrid June 18, 2013.
3. A member of a Roma community sits next to an excavator demolishing a neighbour’s shack in the shanty town settlement of “El Gallinero”, in the outskirts of Madrid June 18, 2013.
4. A boy reacts as he stands next riot policemen while an excavator demolishes a relative’s shack in the shanty town settlement of “El Gallinero”, in the outskirts of Madrid June 18, 2013.
5. Riot policemen prevent residents from entering their home as it is targeted for demolition in the shanty town settlement of “El Gallinero”, in the outskirts of Madrid June 18, 2013.
6. A girl plays next to her teddy bear as a neighbour peeps through a window in the shanty town settlement of “El Gallinero”, in the outskirts of Madrid June 18, 2013.
7. Children stand next to empty water containers in a supermarket cart in the shanty town settlement of “El Gallinero”, in the outskirts of Madrid June 18, 2013.
8. Ceracela Vaduva sits next to her family’s belongings after their home was demolished in the shanty town settlement of “El Gallinero”, in the outskirts of Madrid June 18, 2013. The Vaduva family, like most in the settlement, started to rebuild their torn down shacks as soon as the policemen left.