Many of the 40 people forced to flee after a local stabbing are still traumatised by Andalucían town’s ‘blackest day’ Ricardo García Carmona still shudders at the way he spoke to his mother when she appeared on his doorstep with an urgent warning a little after 9am on Sunday 17 July last year a young doorman called Álvaro Soto had been stabbed to death after an argument at the pub where he worked in the small Andalucían town of Peal de Becerro and his mother could not shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen “I started laughing at her and told her she was mad,” says the 34-year-old security guard ‘Where are we going to go?’ I told her it would be worse if we went because they’d think we were part of the same family as the guy who’d done it – ‘If we run away the people in town will say we were involved.’” “They’re going to come and they’re going to burn us out,” she said a crowd of people surged down the steps from the church and headed for García Carmona’s house They chanted “Gypsies out!” and began kicking his car A nearby civil guard officer told him that things “had got a bit out of hand” and warned him and his family to stay indoors and when they do the whole town will come to burn the Gypsies out García Carmona heeded her advice and the family packed up and fled to a hotel in the nearby town of Úbeda He was in his room there the following night when friends in Peal began sending him photos of the anti-Gypsy violence that had followed a peaceful demonstration calling for justice for Soto its white goods dragged out on to the street and the word “Murderer” sprayed on one wall Other Gypsy property in Peal suffered similar fates: houses were looted and damaged; one was burned; cars were tipped over and walls disfigured with graffiti that read “Gypsies out” Grafitti reads: “gypsies out” in Peal de Becerro Photograph: supplied“I looked at those pictures in the hotel,” says García Carmona I asked myself what I’d done to deserve this Four men were arrested in connection with the murder two of whom were subsequently released pending trial Police have recently begun questioning people over the anti-Gypsy attacks that followed the murder while Spain’s public ombudsman is investigating the violence and the authorities’ response to it called the events the “blackest and saddest” in the town’s history and Spain’s social rights ministry said the attacks on the Gypsy families “should have no place in a plural diverse and democratic society such as ours” Eight families – some 40 people, including elderly people and children – fled Peal in the wake of the violence leaving behind them their homes and whatever could not be easily transported Despite the outrage that met the violence at the time the families feel abandoned by the authorities who have done little more than refer them to social services in the areas to which they have moved García Carmona recently took the difficult decision to leave Andalucía for the small town of Polop de la Marina where he works 10-hour days picking loquats the place where his family has lived for four generations While the security guard was always aware of a latent racism in his home town he could never have imagined having to live through last year’s events – which carry echoes of the anti-Gypsy violence of the 1980s with petrol in retaliation for an earlier assault A spokesperson for the mayor told the Observer: “When it comes to coexistence A spokesperson for the Andalucían regional government said the central government was responsible for guaranteeing coexistence in the town but the regional department of social inclusion and equality had been “working intensely” with different authorities and Gypsy associations to coordinate a response to the needs of the affected families He also pointed out that the regional government had set up the Andalucían Council for the Gypsy People last year as part of its efforts to “achieve complete inclusion and fight the intolerance discrimination and hatred that the Gypsy people suffer today” Free weekly newsletterThe most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment columnist and writer from Córdoba who is also a Gypsy says the authorities have been too slow to help the victims and too reticent to call out what happened in Peal last July “I’m very proud to be Spanish and I never like criticising my country – it’s an advanced democracy and it has a lot of good things,” he says “But I think there’s still a resistance when it comes to recognising that there was an outbreak of racism following an understandable outbreak of anger.” he has seen how terrible crimes can elicit outpourings of anger on courthouse steps “But a whole town rising up to attack the homes of eight families isn’t normal And I think the authorities should have stepped in and shown their indignation publicly.” Santiago is keen to point out that anti-Gypsy racism is hardly a uniquely Spanish problem “Europe has an unsettled debt when it comes to the Gypsy people, who are the very definition of a European people,” he says. “We’re present in every country and we’ve been here since Europe was conceived.” The aftermath of violence in Peal.Meanwhile, thousands of Gypsy and north African people living in the sprawling Cañada Real shantytown near Madrid have been without power for two-and-a-half years García Carmona would still like to go back to Peal but he worries about the toll that would take on his family who was beginning to talk at the time of the attacks “She just drank coffee after coffee so that she didn’t have to fall asleep and see people coming towards the house again in her head.” Most of the exiled families are too scared to speak out publicly but García Carmona is tired of feeling angry and powerless While he is disgusted by Soto’s murder – “may the full weight of the law come down on the person who did that” – he wants justice for Peal’s Gypsies “If you’re in your own house in your own town where you get along with everyone – and you’ve committed no crime and never been involved in any trouble – how would you feel if all this happened to you?” he asks Why should an entire community have to pay for what one person did?” This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Racist grafitti in a house in Peal de Becerro July 30 (RHC)-- Dozens of Gypsy people have been forced to abandon their homes in a small Andalucían town when a killing triggered a wave of racist violence  Groups representing Spain’s Gypsy communities said on Thursday that more than 30 members of six families had fled Peal de Becerro in Jaén province because they were afraid of further reprisals against their community The latest wave of violence erupted when a 29-year-old pub doorman was stabbed to death in the troubled region after an argument with four members of the local Gypsy community in early hours of Sunday  It was followed by a racist rampage in which some residents targeted houses belonging to Gypsies  Some houses were also defaced with graffiti saying “killer Gypsies” and “death to Gypsies.”  Gypsy communities were quick to voice their sympathies over the killing but said nothing could justify the racist crimes that followed “It’s unacceptable for a group of people to take justice in their own hands to call for the expulsion of Gypsy families from a town and for them to burn these families’ homes and flip over their cars,” Spain’s Fundación Secretariado Gitano said in a statement a federation made up of associations of Gypsy women said his death simply could not excuse the anti-Gypsy violence  Kamira was among the groups that have filed criminal complaints relating to the violence Public prosecutors in Andalucía recently said they had begun investigating the events that followed Álvaro Soto’s death  This was not the first instance of violence against Gypsy communities in Spain and elsewhere across Europe Gypsy families living in the Andalucían town of Martos were forced to flee after their homes were torched Gypsies also called Roma and other aboriginal communities continue to suffer marginalization across Western countries the former UN poverty expert Philip Alston called on the Spanish authorities to carry out an independent review to ensure that Roma children were “not doomed to repeat the cycle of poverty and exclusion” Human rights groups say Roma communities across Europe are facing widespread persecution and "shocking" discrimination  Several surveys of Roma communities across Europe found they tend to be poorer than the rest of the population with worse health and lower literacy levels  They score lower on all key social measures of as unemployment They had been subjected to racially motivated crime across Europe over the past decades enter your e-mail address in the box below Killing of doorman in Andalucían town triggered rampage in which houses were burned and looted Spanish Gypsy groups are calling for urgent action and protection after dozens of people were forced to abandon their homes in a small Andalucían town when a killing triggered a wave of racist violence a 29-year-old pub doorman called Álvaro Soto was stabbed to death in Peal de Becerro after an argument with four members of the local Gypsy community Although a peaceful demonstration calling for justice for Soto was held in the town the next day it was followed by a racist rampage in which some residents targeted houses belonging to Gypsies including relatives of the alleged killers Some houses were also defaced with graffiti saying “killer Gypsies” and “death to Gypsies” 31 members of six families have fled Peal de Becerro because they are afraid of further reprisals against their community Two of the four men arrested were subsequently released pending trial Groups representing Spain’s Gypsy communities were quick to express their sympathies over the killing “It’s unacceptable for a group of people to take justice in their own hands, to call for the expulsion of Gypsy families from a town, and for them to burn these families’ homes and flip over their cars,” Spain’s Fundación Secretariado Gitano said in a statement Kamira, a federation made up of associations of Gypsy women, offered its “condolences, sympathies and solidarity” to Soto’s family but said his death simply could not excuse the anti-Gypsy violence “This was meant to be a demonstration calling for peace but some violent people whipped others up and it became something absolutely intolerable that’s shaken the social peace and coexistence of a town,” said Kamira’s president that the necessary investigations identify those responsible for the damage and the threats and that the authorities stay on top of the comments on social media which could represent incitement to hatred.” Santiago Reyes said justice needed to be done and social cohesion restored as soon as possible “You can’t generalise over the actions of one person and force people out of their homes just because they’re related to that person,” she added “That can’t be justified and it doesn’t belong in a society with the rule of law.” Kamira was among the groups that have filed criminal complaints relating to the violence public prosecutors in Andalucía said they had begun investigating the events that followed Soto’s death The Guardian tried to contact Peal de Becerro’s mayor, David Rodríguez, but his office said he was too busy to speak. In comments reported by El País Rodríguez described recent events as “the blackest and saddest days” in the town’s history adding: “We will not stop until those behind the murder pay for Álvaro’s death.” a lawyer representing those who have been forced to flee Many had to leave everything behind and were dependent on relatives “It’s not just about the uncertainty of having to abandon your home it’s also the worry that everything you’ve worked for struggled for and built over a lifetime has been lost,” he said “There was one young couple who’d just got the sofa and chairs they’d been saving up for said that although Soto and his family deserved justice so too did those affected by “this pogrom which was committed against the Gypsy community” Muñoz said that while she could understand the town’s fury being directed at his alleged killers violence had been unleashed against “families who are totally blameless and who are just being attacked because they’re Gypsies” She also said that this was not the first such violence. In July 1986, Gypsy families living in the Andalucían town of Martos – which, like Peal de Becerro, sits in Jaén province – were forced to flee after their homes were torched Juan de Dios Ramírez Heredia, a lawyer and former Spanish politician who serves as president of the Union of Romani People said the scenes witnessed in Peal de Becerro were an aberration “I’m Gypsy and I speak from my own personal experience But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t racist individuals in Spain These are the ones who are behind awful situations like the one we’ve seen in Peal de Becerro where a group of real racists attacked Gypsy citizens who had nothing to do with this.” Two years ago, the former UN poverty expert Philip Alston called on the Spanish government to carry out an independent, comprehensive review to ensure that Roma children were “not doomed to repeat the cycle of poverty and exclusion” Meanwhile, thousands of Roma and north African people living in the sprawling Cañada Real shantytown near Madrid have been without power for almost two years.