Fears of rising tide of racism after vicious attacks on migrant children in Catalonia (The Independent)
In February 2017, a tide of blue flags flowed through the old Gothic centre of Barcelona towards its Mediterranean coast. Carried by a crowd at least 160,000 strong, they were coloured to symbolise the sea, which was claiming the lives of thousands of Syrian and North African refugees trying to make it to Europe. United behind a banner proudly proclaiming “We want to welcome you”, it was one of the biggest pro-immigration marches the world has seen. Many taking part were outraged that Spain had pledged to accept 17,000 refugees as the crisis peaked, yet by that point, the conservative government in Madrid had only taken in a little more than 700 – and only a third of the 1,250 places provisioned for Catalonia had been filled. “The social impact of the protest was incalculable,” recalls rally organiser Ruben Wagensberg in an interview with The Independent . He is now a member for the Republican Left of Catalonia in the regional parliament. “Now, unfortunately, our progress is