Malick Gueye is originally from Senegal, he’s 35 years old and has been living in Spain for 13 years. He is the spokesperson for the Workers’ Union of Manteros and Lateros (illegal street vendors — literally “blanket men” and “can men” for the medium and product they sell, respectively) of Madrid, and friend of Mame Mbaye, the man who died this Thursday evening of a heart attack while escaping police persecution during an intervention of top manta (a term used in Spain to refer to the street vendors using blankets to display goods). The municipal police assured that his death was unrelated to the interventions against street vendors in Sol.

The collective of Manteros and Lateros is comprised of 50 people who, since 2010, meet every Tuesday to request the decriminalization of their mode of survival — street vending.

Who was Mame Mbaye?

The man who died yesterday in Lavapiés, above all else, was a friend of mine of ten years. He’s a part of our collective in which we’ve spent 10 years denouncing the assault and harassment we face from the Police, meeting every Tuesday to fight and denounce everything that has been going on.

Has the pressure against Top Manta increased recently?

The pressure has never decreased. We have spent 3 years denouncing the persecution, the harassment, and explaining to City Hall what has been happening. And they haven’t done anything about it. That they’ve come and killed Mame isn’t anything new. We’ve spent a lot of time warning the Minister of Security, Javier Barbero, as well as Manuela Carmena. And nothing. Today we mourn the death of a friend.

Tell me about what exactly happened yesterday evening the moment Mbaye died. Are there contradicting versions?

We all know what the police will say, but yes, there will be a persecution. They had followed him from Puerta del Sol on motorbikes and when he arrived to Oso street, several kilometres away, he collapsed. He was with a friend and when he attempted to help him by putting his fingers in his mouth so he wouldn’t bite his tongue, the Police shoved him and pushed him aside. The same police officers got off their motorbikes and pushed him and he died right then and there.

What is the Workers’ Union of Manteros and Lateros?

We’re a collective comprised of more than 50 people that meet every Tuesday to denounce what we suffer in our everyday lives, including attacks, abuse and arrests. Detentions in Internment Centres for Migrants (CIEs) and deportations. They do what they please with the detainees, knowing that they won’t be reprimanded. We have been keeping a record of all the complaints. In July, we will make sure it arrives to City Hall. There were 18 attacks against us, colleagues with broken arms and broken legs. This isn’t anything new.

What are your demands?

Mame spent 13 years in Spain and many years requesting his papers. Like him, manteros are forced to sell in the street because of the Ley de Extranjería (Spanish Law of Immigration) that does not allow you any rights and obliges you to live illegally. The Ley de Extranjería condemned Mame to live illegally. People are forced to sell on the streets because of the barriers created by this law that says that people are not allowed the right to work, that they are illegal, and there is no other way to survive aside from the manta. We demand the abolition of the Ley de Extranjería and the decriminalization of the manta because day by day it’s a criminal offence to sell in the street, facing up to 2 years in prison, and since 2010, we have been saying that survival is not a crime. There are many, many manteros in prison for selling in the streets. You shouldn’t be punished for surviving, where poor people go to prison as occurs today in Spain

What are the demands of the rally this Friday?

That those responsible for the death of Mame pay their dues, that those two police officers responsible pay for it, as well as the City Hall. They are the ones that allowed for these attacks to happen.

Regarding the riots last night…What is the union’s stance?

Well it’s the fruit of the anger and rage of the people, but if the Police hadn’t primed it, it would have never happened. But how can we not protest if we witnessed them kill someone in front of our own eyes. The press will focus on the violence and riots, but I don’t think that that is the most important thing right now. The key issue here is the death of a man.

Original in Spanish: https://m.20minutos.es/noticia/3289907/0/sindicato-manteros-policias-paguen-muerte-mmame/

Well, if you don’t live in, or near, a major city in Spain, you probably weren’t aware that a corner store — or “alimentación” in Spanish — is commonly referred to as el chino (Spanish for “the Chinese”). We’re all familiar with these shops — y’know, the ones where you can find chips, cans of food, and also cheap plastic knick-knacks that are ubiquitous in some form in almost every corner of the world. However, if you’re in and around Barcelona, you might go visit el paki for a bottle of wine and a pack of peanuts. Now, hopefully many of you cringed a little inside when you read that, but if that instinct wasn’t reflexive, let me explain to you why is it for me -

So it’s obvious, the reason why these businesses are often referred to as “chinos” and “pakis” — because many of the shop owners are of East Asian and South Asian descent, in this case respectively in Madrid and Barcelona.

Firstly, you could be thinking: but most of the “chinos” are owned by chinos???
Yes, but “chino” — or “Chinese” by definition, is employed as the following:

noun
1.the language of China.
2.a native or inhabitant of China, or a person of Chinese descent.

adjective
1.relating to China or its language, culture, or people.

Last time I checked, potato chips, paper towel, and plastic lighters had nothing to do with the Chinese language, culture, or people (I don’t have to look up “paki” for you but I can tell you it’s not a word appropriately used to refer to Pakistani people, language, or culture. But if you’re blissfully unaware of what connotations it holds you can click here)

So, next question is — why do Chinese people own 99.9998548% of alimentaciones (corner stores)/bazares (dollar stores) in Madrid?

Usually, when immigrants come to a new country, they have very limited resources. Corner stores are indispensable in any neighbourhood, and the business model is tried, tested, and true. There’s the infrastructure and the resources available through the Chinese community as well as the support. Immigrants don’t often have the privilege to undertake risks financially with uncharted territories business-wise.

This, and simply — demand. These stores exist and thrive — not because people open them — but because we demand them. We want, and therefore buy cheap plastic objects, and we like going to a huge shop where we can find everything we need under one roof for an affordable price. We are the ones that curate the shelves of these shops, not the Chinese, or the Pakistani, or anyone else. They are simply the messengers of our desires, and this one in concrete happens to be the desire for large quantities of cheap plastic goods and the convenience of having it close to home.

The same goes for the phenomenon of Vietnamese people and nail salons. Being Vietnamese myself, I can tell you there is nothing inherently Vietnamese about manicures and pedicures, nor do we have an affinity towards nails. What has happened is simply the result of the response of one community towards the demands of another. Luckily in this case, no one — at least to my knowledge — is going around calling nail salons the Vietnamese.