Costa Blanca (a financial crisis)

During the 2008 economic downturn, unemployment among labor migrants in Spain’s Costa Blanca soared to 36.5%. Many were ineligible for social assistance, and going back to their home countries wasn’t an option for most. The majority had worked in construction or the service industry in and around Alicante. With no other options, many ended up homeless, scavenging for old clothes, shoes, toys, and scrap metal to sell at makeshift markets. They also lined up at a local church in the city center for bread and food, and in desperate moments, some had to beg for a few euros. Many lived in small tents set up in parks or vacant lots, only to have them dismantled by local police. Others built shacks from scrap wood on the outskirts of the city.