It is likely that the customers of some famous beach restaurants in Ibiza are unable to imagine that the waiter who is professionally serving the dish or uncorking a bottle of wine, when their shift ends as a seasonal worker, has to live in a motorhome parked in a field without services of any kind. However, this is the situation of the dozens of seasonal workers who remain illegally in a plot located in the middle of Ses Salines Natural Park, although their days there seem to be numbered.
Yesterday morning, a Sant Josep Policía Local patrol informed the seasonal workers that they could not stay in this protected area. According to the City Council, in the case that the residents of the motor homes do not leave the area, they are subject to a fine. The intention of the Consistory is to close this open space to avoid illegal camping.
“We are seasonal workers”
The campers, for their part, claim their right to have a place to park their motorhomes and spend the night while they work on Ibiza during the tourist season. “We are seasonal workers and we also collaborate in the economy of this island. We are all in beach clubs and restaurants, most of us work in businesses in ses Salines”, says Emma, owner of a motorhome and who sets herself up as an improvised spokesperson for this community.
“In Ibiza there is not a single public space to park motorhomes”, she complains, “ there are only three campsites, they are all full until October and they charge you 1,500 euros a month”. Emma demands a decent place to park vehicles that are also their homes: “In Portugal, in France, in the Canary Islands, in many coastal areas there are specific spaces where motorhomes can be parked and where grey water can be cleaned. I have been traveling around the world for seven years and I have never had any problem, only in Ibiza”.
This seasonal worker does not understand that “if motorhomes are not welcome in Ibiza, they let them on board and charge us 350 euros for the ticket. Formentera is more honest, they are forbidden and they don’t let them on the boat”, and insists that “sleeping in a motorhome is as dignified as sleeping in any other place and for many people it is the only option, because of the abusive price of rentals”.
Two of the motorhomes parked in the open field. D.V.
“It is not a place for camping
The open space where they have settled is close to their workplaces, which is an advantage. The disadvantage is that they are located within the boundaries of the Natural Park of ses Salines, where camping is strictly prohibited. According to a spokesman for the Balearic Ministry of the Environment, park technicians and environmental agents have already told them that they must leave the site, but that is where their task ends.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.