Luis Moreno: "the Association of Neighbors is to claim neighborhood needs"
The following interview deals with the particular vision of an agent of change in Badalona, more specifically in the neighborhood of Llefià. Luis Moreno He is the president of the Association of Neighbors of Juan Valera where he observes the reality of the neighborhood and proposes solutions to the different problems that exist in the area within his possibilities.
Luis Moreno began in social movements for years and also belongs to a political party in his personal capacity, but when he presents himself to the acts or performs some action he appears as Luís de Juan Valera. She works by dealing with problems of different types, helping to give food, solving conflicts of coexistence or providing other help. Try to do what it takes to be up to the circumstances.
From a psychosocial point of view, Luis is the perfect example of an agent of change who works in a network with different groups and entities to create solutions and give continuity among the neighbors with the projects. From an ecological point of view, he manages to work at different levels, and in addition, with his political party he pretends to be able to influence the macro context, where the rules and social policies that influence the most nuclear levels of the Bronfenbrenner theory are forged.
As psychologists we could work from multiple perspectives, so the ideal in this case would be a work between different professionals in the network and monitoring both cases and reports that can give institutions such as the city, schools, youth entities, etc. But, what happens if there are no specialized teams in conflict resolution in areas in need of them?
Luis brings a little light to the subject by reflecting the concrete situation in his area and a particular case in which the neighborhood association welcomed some 120 people so that they could be trained in freedom in the spaces of the association, as well as forming a food bank self managed and alternative to the conventional. In cases where it is necessary to work for the environment but also promote empowerment through participation , interpersonal relationships, the promotion of community health and the Personal development .
The neighborhood association as an empowerment tool
What is the function of a neighborhood association?
It has many functions, and they come from far away. When they were created they were places where improvements were claimed for the neighborhoods, problems with the neighbors, etc. This comes from 40 years ago, and there were four people. Today the competitions are more even, from giving food to people who do not have to eat, helping people who have been evicted, people with a very low income, and collaborating with the social worker who is also overwhelmed. I have here a huge list with which you drop your soul to the ground, are living poorly unfortunately, and from the neighborhood association we give all the support we can, for example, every 15 days we help with food. And this is the current mission of the neighborhood association in the neighborhood, given the complexities of the area. There is also the issue of the payment of neighborhood communities for the maintenance of the building where they live, of course, by not being able to afford the payments and not being able to pay for water, electricity, etc., there are confrontations between those who pay and those who do not. And there we try to mediate between the neighbors, sometimes with more or less success. Basically, neighborhood associations are there to help people and reclaim neighborhood needs.
What are the specific functions of the neighborhood association, such as the offers of activities or participation in parties?
To give an example, in May, all neighborhood associations come together to set up parties. They brought an orchestra, we set up activities for the children, they distributed cake and cava among the members, etc. But this we finish, because as the situation is what it is and the needs prevailed, all that money is spent on food and distributed among the people most in need.
How do social policies affect a neighborhood association?
Specifically now and in this area, there are not by the efforts of the town hall and the party that there is currently. People have to look for life as best they can, with the food bank that we have created, we try to get the administration to lend a hand, but we find many obstacles. They work when the elections come, but every day they do nothing, and they do not look for people in need.
And why do you do what you do?
I think it's something that needs to be done, I think that whoever sees the current crisis situation and of helplessness has to plant and say enough is enough. So, those of us who are involved in these actions are getting older unfortunately and we do not see a strong relay, there are things that can not be accepted.A person who sees what there is can not allow it, that is why we do what we do. To try to change the situation of social injustice.
Who or what are the neighborhood agents that are involved in problem solving?
For associations, groups, people who, without being involved in entities, try to collaborate, etc. But I would like people to become more involved, to have a little more understanding of the problems we have. It seems that most people only worry about personal problems but forget collective problems. And in this neighborhood unfortunately there are outbreaks of racism that power the council, and we must support the most disadvantaged by current policies.
What is the relationship with the entities of the territory from the neighborhood association?
There is a good relationship, in fact in our district there are 8 neighborhood associations. One of them does not work because the party that is in power in the town hall was responsible for closing it. The rest of us work as a team fighting for health, for the neighborhood culture, evictions, etc. Regarding the issue of food collection there are some schools that are helping a lot, public schools where AMPAS collect food also to add them to the bank of the neighborhood association, etc. In general there is a good relationship. The only thing is that there are very few people on the boards of neighborhood associations and there is no way to make a relief in some.
Regarding the neighborhood, what types of problems exist in the community?
In this concretely there are many and coexistence above all. It is a neighborhood that has always been a worker and now there is a very high immigration rate. In fact, in the next neighborhood there is a 25% immigrant population of different nationalities, there are all of them. And they are different cultures and ways of thinking, some people do not get to adapt and the natives sometimes do not let even one pass, and there are outbreaks of racism in communities where you can find cases of violence in these cases. We are mediating in many communities, but we can not dedicate ourselves exclusively to it, because we do it in a disinterested way and we get where we can. But come on, the main problem there is coexistence. Like everything, everyone has their rules and beliefs, but we have to have more respect for people and be more tolerant.
And what is the involvement of the administration in the problems of coexistence? And the neighborhood agents? Does the police play a sanctioning or cooperating role?
The police are somehow sent, and the orders they receive are to fine uncivil behavior, even if they are insolvent. The city council does not collaborate in anything at all. From here we try to make a neighborhood of all for all, that there are no problems because we come from different places, that we all go to one and respect the environment. Being the same without looking at each other over the shoulder, but it is very difficult, since the cultural level influences the perception of the people as well as the level of tolerance, as well as the degree of effort in the integration that can have the people of outside. Sometimes we are in the middle of a crossfire, but we practice the example of tolerance.
From the administration there are teams specialized in the management of these conflicts?
Yes, there is a special body of the local police called UCO that are in civilian clothes and act as mediators, good people. I have a good relationship with whoever has this subject and does a good job. They go to the sites talking about problems, etc. And we have achieved good results, although they are becoming less. Previously we had in this area a number of mediators hired by the municipality, but since the current political party has been there has not been any team like that, and we were very satisfied with them. We were advancing very well, but the team disappeared. And these problems also grow because of the economic situation, but we are working as we can.
Leaving these conflicts aside now, why are there more than 150 children studying in the neighborhood association?
It turns out that there was a Muslim association that rented a place next door to dedicate itself to teaching the children because they do not want their children to lose their customs, and they teach Arabic as if they were in their country. There were also autochthonous people. But the city council closed the premises alleging that they had done works without permission, and it is false. They asked for the permit and they had it in hand, although it was already foreseen that they would close the premises by the prevailing policies. Because the area where they were was able to capture votes, and now as the elections are going well. And demagogy is present at their expense. Then the people who took care of the place came to the neighborhood association and told me about the problem. The children who were studying no longer had a place to learn. When they demonstrated to protest I was also there, because we have to support the causes of the people in the neighborhood, and I offered them a patch solution that was to give two rooms in the neighborhood association to give classes until they found another location.And there they are giving classes with qualified teachers from their country of origin, and they have been two months and there is no complaint, they behave in a very orderly and cordial way. I told them that there would be no problem with the administration because of this, what I do not want is to leave the people on the street having spaces, and this is the house of the people. It is for those who need it. They have offered to collaborate with the neighborhood association in whatever we need, in short, very well, and they will be there as long as they need.
Do they do refresher classes for the classes they teach at school?
Everyone is schooled and they do revision classes as well, but most classes are those that are related to their roots.
What is the opinion of the neighbors?
There are neighbors who see these people as the people they are and others look at them with suspicion. But what is clear is that they will be here as long as they need. Something very heavy has to happen so that they have to go, but this is for everyone in general. And if there were external pressures to leave, I would go with them.
Are they involved in the neighborhood association or neighborhood activities or has the opportunity not yet been given due to the recentness of the case?
At the moment they have not been able to do anything, but they have told me that if we make parties for the children or activities they will all come to do what is necessary. In the last plenary session of the city council they came with me to support the local demands, that is, if you need them to be with you, they are. And that is very important, in fact, they collaborate more than many native people. They are very grateful. It seems that the people here, if you help them is because it is your obligation, and it is not really.
Very well, at this point we are finishing the interview. Thank you very much for your collaboration. Would you like to add something else?
Seeing what is in this area, which seems to be the most needed in the whole city, I think you can do many things, but it is a matter of people wanting to work. Look, we did a charity concert to collect food and, thanks to that, we spent 4 months distributing food to 120 families. And I would like an alternative food bank to be formed so that those who do not have access to the conventional food bank come, because it has little capacity, and there is more need than places to receive food. So, for those who stay outside, I would like that from the neighborhood association could meet this need. But to be able to carry it out I need people who go to pick up food at different points, and to distribute them, because I have loaded all this work only for a while and there comes a time when fatigue is huge. I need people to lend a hand and thus give long-term viability to this self-managed food bank. Even if it is to cover 130 people, to what we can get. The people who receive it really appreciate it, and it is necessary. I want to add that, we have to help people beyond the individual problems of each one.
