Photos: Madrid’s Roma relocation has community facing a daunting change

The Stan family was one of the last Roma families left in the shanty town of El Gallinero, on the outskirts of Madrid. After years of living in ramshackle huts in precarious conditions, the Roma camp was dismantled this week, and its remaining inhabitants relocated to public housing flats or temporary shelters. The "Gallinero" or "chicken coop" had stood on the side of a motorway leading out of the capital since the early 2000s, a fragile mass of corrugated roofs, mangled wires and rotting garbage.

Updated on: Oct 02, 2018 9:57 AM IST

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Ramona Stan, 41, is comforted by a neighbour as she leaves El Gallinero shanty town to relocate to a new apartment in Madrid, Spain. A makeshift camp dubbed the “Gallinero” was demolished on the outskirts of Madrid last week and its 150 Roma residents offered alternative accommodation. But for those who have known little else, the change is daunting. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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A bulldozer demolishes the remaining huts at the Roma shanty town of El Gallinero. “The new house will be better than this, but we grew up here. It feels strange,” said Lipovehnch Bucurestean, 21, heavily pregnant with her second child. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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Children look for toys to salvage from the debris of the Stan family hut after it was demolished. Bucurestean’s toddler son picked through old toys strewn around their make-shift house as the Red Cross arrived to transport them to their new home. Meanwhile, scrap collectors from another Roma community arrived in search of leftovers. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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Veronica Radu, 24, sits in her bedroom as she waits to be relocated from El Gallinero. The “Gallinero” or “chicken coop” had stood on the side of a motorway leading out of the capital since the early 2000s, a fragile mass of corrugated roofs, mangled wires and rotting garbage. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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David Stan, 7, and his sister Beatriz, 9, play at a playground outside their new apartment after being relocated. Some residents were uneasy with relocation plans outlined by authorities last year which include social housing and temporary shelters around the capital. The Stans, will rent a state-owned flat in southern Madrid at a subsidized 75 euros ($86.80) a month. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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A drawing of a house hangs on the wall of an empty hut after its inhabitants had left. The houses are well-equipped and clean, in contrast to the fiber-board walls and open sewage gutters at the campsite. Still, the family said they felt unsettled and had already heard neighbours express reservations about their arrival. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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A police officer walks amid debris as a truck tows an abandoned car during the demolition drive. “Mum cried when we left the camp,” said Beatriz, one of nine children at the flat, as volunteers helped set out their furniture. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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David Stan, 7, tries to hide his cat Coral in his backpack as he waits to move out. David and Beatriz’s parents arrived from Țăndărei, Romania, 17 years ago and had lived in the Gallinero for most of their time since. “She’s scared someone will take us,” Beatriz said. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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Marta Stan, 2, sleeps on the floor as her family moves into their new apartment after being relocated from El Gallinero. “We aren’t dirty,” said Dayana, 6, hinting at the prejudice her family have sometimes faced outside of their tight-knit Roma community. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)

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Members of the Stan family rest surrounded by their belongings in their new apartment. There are around 725,000-750,000 ethnic Roma living in Spain, according to the charity Minority Rights, making it one of the largest communities of its kind in Europe. Roma from Romania make up a significant part of that number and, as Europeans, are permitted to live and work in Spain without visas. (Susana Vera / REUTERS)