12/06/2004 00:00
TW
0
By Jason Moore AN absolute disgrace. These are the only words that sum-up the long queues of people who have been waiting outside police stations in Palma to try and get their paperwork in order. I thought that Spain was a modern country and these things didn't happen anymore. Unfortunately, I have been proved wrong. Also, I don't like how these poor souls are described as immigrants. There appears to be three classes in Spain at the moment; Spaniards non-Spanish Europeans and immigrants. Well, I am very proud to be an immigrant and my heart goes out to all those people in the endless queues. They have been invited to come here by the Spanish government to fill a void in the labour market. Yes, basically because Spaniards, like other Europeans, don't feel like doing certain types of jobs. This is a terrible state of affairs when you consider that Spain has one of the highest rates of unemployment in Europe. The Spanish government needs to resolve the paperwork situation at once. Probably one of the reasons why I feel so strongly on this subject is that I have been there as well because in the days before the European Union getting a work permit and residence certificate in this country wasn't an easy state of affairs.

Apart from the long queues think of the worry as well. These people know that if their application is rejected they will have to leave at once or risk working “in the underground economy” where they are at risk of all evils.

Come on Spain sort out this problem; what we are seeing is disgraceful and horrible. Before inviting people from the rest of the world to come and work here, first you've got to get the system right.