News January 23rd

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Illegal Landing
  Nine illegal immigrants were treated in hospital last week having landed on the island after several days at sea aboard a four-metre rubber “Zodiac” boat.  After receiving numerous warnings during 2007, the Balearics began witnessing the arrival of their first immigrants after several boats were captured close to Majorca last year.  Ibiza, however, remained untouched, with the immigrants less able to blend in, in such a small community.  However it was always going to happen eventually, and Wednesday saw the arrival of the first illegal immigrants to the island. 
  The trade in immigrants is rife, especially in North Africa, with Spain seen as a soft option.  There is also, conveniently, just 250 kilometres separating the countries of Northern Africa, including Morocco and Algeria, and the mainland of Spain.     
  The alarm was first raised by a neighbour walking in ses Salinas who saw several suspicious looking men close to the beach.  Police officers were immediately sent to the area where they eventually found the nine immigrants, all with significant dehydration and hyperthermia, pleading for help.  All were taken to Can Misses hospital.  One was released the following day, five on Friday, while three were held until Monday.  Most were suffering from severe dehydration having admitted to drinking seawater.  They also all had severe injuries to their wrists and ankles having tied themselves to the boat to ensure none of them were thrown into the water by the fierce 80 kmph winds and two metre high waves.   
  Their journey is still under discussion by investigating officers and the true facts may never be fully known.  Through a translator, the men claimed on their arrival that they had been at sea for a total of nine days.  They said they started the journey aboard the four-metre boat with the help of an outboard engine.  However when the engine failed not long into the journey, they said they had abandoned it and used oars to row the rest of the way.  However, officers claimed the story was too unbelievable and that it was far more likely they had been taken the majority of the way in a far larger fishing boat, and had only been dropped off into the smaller vessel at the last moment.  A lack of any sign of food or water in the boat, they said, supported their theory. 
  However, the officers did believe the men when they claimed Ibiza had not been their intended destination.  They alleged they had been aiming for the coast of Almeria but had got lost as the seas became more tempestuous. 
  The following day, as most of the men remained under hospital treatment, the Guardia Civil arrested one of the immigrants they believed to be the ringleader of the operation.  He was facing between 4-8 years in prison, if found guilty.  He had been pinpointed after admitting to having guided the boat to the island.  However, he later claimed he had only been in charge of the vessel because he was a fisherman by trade and used to handling boats, a claim backed up by his fellow passengers.  They maintained they had all clubbed together to buy the boat and that the plan had been hatched between them.  They said each had handed over €800 to buy the boat, supplies and a GPS system (Global Positioning System). 
  After visiting all of the other passengers in Can Misses, the judge in the case decided to order the release of the imprisoned man, claiming there was very little evidence against any of the immigrants being the ringleader.
  They will now all be sent to a holding station in Valencia before the papers can be arranged for their deportation back to Algeria.  However, it seems likely they will eventually end up living in Spain, as it became clear the Algerian Government rarely recognises anyone who has tried to escape from the country, as citizens.  They claim the men are unpatriotic and do not want to live in the country, hence the reason they had tried to escape.  The Spanish Authorities are therefore left with no option but to accept them.    
 Amongst the nine men, officers revealed there was one who claimed to be under the age of eighteen, although nothing has yet been proven.  Medical evidence showed he was around eighteen years of age, but at the moment police were treating the person as a minor.  He would therefore have to stay on the island and would be housed at the youth centre Can Pep Xicu. 
  The problem of illegal immigration is nothing new to Spain, and one which the authorities are no closer to solving.  The Canary Islands, especially, has suffered enormously from the problem.  Surveillance is now far greater in the area, which is why it is believed the people traffickers are now concentrating on the south-west of Spain.  Immigrants can pay anything up to €2,000 for the opportunity of leaving their country.  On arrival in Spain they are given a fresh set of clothes and illegal work is found for them.  The greatest tragedy has always been those who do not make the crossing.  The small boats are very much at the mercy of the sea, and any change in weather conditions usually ends fatally.  Just last week 85 people were picked up in the Canary Islands, having made the journey from Gambia.  Three people were found dead on board the boat which contained several children.
  The first boat located in the Balearics was back in July of last year.  In quick succession two boats were discovered in Majorca and Minorca.  Just last week two boats were discovered close to Majorca, with a total of 33 occupants.
  Last month the central government representative on the Balearic Islands, Ramón Socías, revealed in a press conference that seven immigrant boats which travelled the route from Algeria have been intercepted since September 2006, and 100 passengers arrested and returned to their country of origin.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Musical Youth
A week after announcing the formation of the Music Council, the president of the Consell Insular, Xico Tarres, revealed he would be seeking the help of the major nightclubs on the island to try and ensure a prolonged tourist season.  The move was a surprising one, but has been applauded by the leading players in the tourist section.
It is a startling U-turn by the president, who began his reign last June by warning owners of nightclubs and bars that he intended to clamp down on the industry.  He claimed legislation was being flagrantly abused and the situation had spun out of control.  Three clubs were closed within quick succession for between one and three weeks.  Although the punishment was for offences caused the previous year, the ruling seemed to enforce the hard line Tarres was going to proceed. 
This tougher stance was soon backed by the five municipalities.  New legislation was introduced by the Town Hall of San Antonio to ensure “after-hour” clubs would be unable to open during the day.  Their lead was soon followed by all of the other municipalities.
However after the recent “meeting of the mayors”, it was announced a new Council would be formed whose sole purpose would be to promote and market the island’s music scene abroad.  Tarres, speaking a few days after the announcement, reassured the public this did not mean he would be weakening his stance.  However he said a well-controlled “night-time” industry could be very beneficial to the island, and help increase the length of the season.  At present the tourist season is very much shaped around the opening and closing of the main nightclubs on the island.  The low-cost airlines in particular, cut their flights drastically once the closing parties have finished.  Tarres insists that by convincing the clubs to open for a little longer, the possibility exists of extending the season.  He claimed he understood the importance of the discos in attracting tourists to the island, and, if embraced, there was no reason the island could not attract a healthy mix of clubbers, families and cultural tourism.
Pere Vidal Amengual, the president of the association of discotheques, said the change in tact of the Consell was a very positive one.  He maintained the island had the best club facilities in the world and, with the promotional assistance being offered, “the possibilities were endless”.  He continued by saying the island offered a quality in nightlife which was unrivalled anywhere in the world.  He understood the Consell’s fears, but said with the correct controls, the island could grow as both a clubbers and family destination.     
Against all the odds an olive branch has been offered by Tarres, a branch which has been gratefully accepted by the club owners.  Time will now tell whether the two, who have been at loggerheads for so long, are able to work together and further enhance the standing of the island abroad.
However, the news did not please everyone, with the president of the Hotel Association, Roberto Hortensius, saying the decision to promote the discos at the major tourist fairs around the world was disappointing and extremely short-sighted.  He declared it was not to the benefit of most that Ibiza be known only for its nightclubs, and hoped the Consell would have a change of heart.
Later that week the three PP-party mayors, Jose Sala, Vicent Mari and Antoni Mari released a joint statement claiming the idea of the Music Consell was to unite the municipalities legislation on clubs and bars, and to try and eradicate the problem of after-hour establishments.  They added they would not support public money being spent on the promotion of “sun and clubbing” tourism.

No Way Out
The Consell-taxi stand off continued last week after 100 drivers staged a protest outside of the Consell building in Ibiza Town.  The argument remains the same, and concerns the 135 temporary licences the Transport Minister, Albert Prats, wants to distribute this summer.  Prats is insisting they be handed out equally between current licence holders and salary earners.  The drivers are instead demanding the licences only be issued to those who already have a licence, claiming this is the only way of controlling the industry. 
While the argument remains the same, the tact of the drivers has changed slightly. They now maintain the Consell do not have the right to issue the temporary licences, and it is up to the individual Town Halls to issue the permits they deem necessary.  The president of the Taxi Association in Ibiza Town, Jose Serafin, pointed out that when Xico Tarres was mayor of Ibiza Town he had disregarded the licences issued by the then PP-run Consell, and had in fact introduced fines for drivers from other municipalities within the capital.  Serafin questioned why his attitude had now changed.   
He also confirmed the first 24-hour strike would go ahead this weekend, beginning on Friday midnight and lasting right the way through Saturday.  However it seems the threat of no minimum service was reduced over the weekend after the Town Hall of Ibiza Town warned the association that they would rescind licences if the minimum service was not abided by.
Albert Prats, in contrast, said he would not be changing his mind and called the attitude of the drivers “selfish”.  He claimed they would be receiving more licences than the previous year and had no reason to complain.  He said his door had always been open for talks and claims by the drivers that they had been ignored were simply untrue.  This last point was underlined as Prats left the meeting he was involved in, to talk to the drivers.        

Discount Available
The airline company, Clickair, announced on Wednesday they would start to apply the resident discount on all flights to and from the island from the 28th January.  For the moment the discount will only be available on reservations made by telephone, whilst the discount on flights bought via the internet will be introduced by the 14th March.  This delay was blamed on the fact that computer systems had to be changed. 

New Highs
The airport in Ibiza broke the record for the number of passengers during 2007 as a total of 4.7 million people passed through the terminal, an increase on the previous year of 6.8 per cent.  2.1 million of these passengers were Spanish, with the Brits coming top of the pile of European arrivals with a total of 1,294,743 million.  Saturday 18th August between 1p.m.-2p.m. was the “peak hour”, with 3,696 travellers passing through the arrivals and departures hall.  

FITUR 2008
The minister for tourism, Francesc Buils, announced last week the Balearic programme for the upcoming FITUR Tourist Fair in Madrid.  The event starts on 30th January and will last for five days.  The Govern Balear is set to go all out at the event, and unveiled their plans which include a spectacular spherical marquee being set up in the centre of the capital in la Plaza Colon during the last three days.  It will be visited by both the president of the Govern Balear, as well as the mayor of the capital, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon. 
The marquee will act as a huge projection screen where images from the four islands are to be shown.  A 20 metre stage will also be set up outside, where various Balearic acts will perform, including the bands, Aires Formenterencs, Wonderbra, and Jazztic.  The local dance “ball pages” will also be performed, as well as an Adlib fashion show.  
The minister for tourism at the Consell Insular, Pepa Mari, said she would be promoting the “authentic and natural” side of Ibiza during the Fair. 

Soiled Pact
The director general of Public Infrastructure, Antoni Armengol, claimed on Thursday there was signed evidence confirming a deal made between the Matutes Group and the company building the airport roads, regarding the earth left on their land.  The documents reveal the company in charge of the building left the dug-up soil on Matutes’ land after an agreement between the two.  The latter had planned to use the soil in constructing a golf course in Playa den Bossa.  The course is not likely to get the go ahead after the change in administration at the Consell, but was all set to get permission earlier last year. 
The pact saved the construction company a considerable amount of money in transporting the soil to the local quarry.  It also would have saved the Matutes Group from bringing soil to the area, in order to build the 18-hole course. 
The problem now is that nobody wants to take responsibility for the soil, and it is eventually going to have to be moved by the Govern Balear who were awaiting permission from the courts before starting. 

Trial Delay
The trial into the contamination of several wells close to Santa Gertrudis is to be suspended until at least 2009, due to a lack of personnel at the court house.  The problem was originally caused by leaking petrol tanks at the BP station close to the village.  The leaked fuel infiltrated several water supplies which led to the Consell Insular having to spend €2million in decontaminating the water in the area.  The owners of the petrol station, as well as the person responsible for the work of burying the tanks, are all being taken to court for serious offences against the environment. 
The petrol station has been embargoed after those responsible failed to pay the bail of €3.7million which the judge ordered. 
Although 90 per cent of the wells have been cleaned, it is thought the rest will take several more years to clear, forcing those in the area to have to buy their own water.

Damn Foreigners!
The Balearics is the autonomous community with the most number of foreigners according to a recent report by the National Institute of Statistics.  The Islands have a total of 190,170 non-Spanish residents, 18.45 per cent of the total population.  Of these, 96,329 are from countries within the European Union (50.65 per cent).  Germany has the highest number of residents within the four islands with 29,189 people, followed by the British (19,803), Italians (11,933) and the French (7,126).  A total of 53,101 originate from South America, with Ecuador being the country with the highest number (13,100), closely followed by Argentina (11,129) and Columbia (9,026).
In Ibiza the percentage rises to 24.76 per cent of the total population, with the Germans again the most numerous with a total of 3,964 residents.  These are followed by the Argentines (3,162), Moroccans (3,059), British (2,729) and Romanians (2,347). 
San Juan is the municipality with the highest amount of non-Spanish residents with a total of 36.2 per cent, followed by Formentera (29.5 per cent) and Santa Eulalia (24.7 per cent). 
Santa Eulalia is the municipality with the most registered number of Brits - 902, followed closely by San Jose (663), San Antonio (620), Ibiza Town (319) and San Juan (163).  There are currently 62 registered British citizens in Formentera.

Charity Plea
Caritas, the charitable organisation on the island, has made a plea for blankets to help protect the estimated three hundred people currently living homeless on the island.  Due to the recent cold snap, the charity claimed they had completely run out of blankets and said they needed at least 150 to cope with the remainder of the winter. 
The chief co-ordinator on the island, Jacobo Garcia, claimed the island’s population was not conscious of the many hundreds of people who were forced to live on the streets.  She added the public hostel could only hold a maximum of 20 people and was full every night.  She said most of those living rough already had significant health problems, which was not helped by the cold weather during the winter months. 
She also said the group was also currently helping a number of immigrants, most of whom had recently arrived on the island, and did not have the funds to pay for heating or buy blankets. 
Those who do have any spare clean blankets, which are ready to be used, they would be gratefully received at the charity shops in calle Carlos III (Ibiza Town), plaza de la Iglesia (San Antonio) and calle Historiador Jose Clapes (Santa Eulalia).      

IBIZA TOWN

Saturation Problems
There were calls for immediate solutions to be found after Can Misses registered occupancy levels of 95 per cent throughout last week.  Parts of the Accident & Emergency ward had to be used to hold patients overnight, due to a lack of beds in the regular wards.  Francisco Muela, of the Trade Union UGT, said short term answers needed to be found as it would be impossible to continue to cope with the problem.  A new hospital has been promised by the Govern Balear, and if everything goes to plan, the first stone should be laid this year.  However, it will take at least four years to complete, leaving the current facilities at breaking point. 
The Health Department revealed last year a project which they hoped would increase the hospital’s capacity by twenty-four beds.  However due to the continued work on the new surgical department, the work, which will locate the rooms on the third floor, has yet to be started. 
The problem of overcrowding has not been helped by a sharp increase in cases of flu.  In 2006/7 there were just 10.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, slightly higher than the 7.9 cases in 2005/6.  However, so far this year there has been an average of 45 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and according to medical experts the figure is set to rise considerably over the next two months.  Hospital staff said the worst was yet to come, and claimed they were in danger of running out of resources. 
The managing director of the hospital, Francisco Carceles, said the problem was nothing new and revealed occupancy levels had been at 98 per cent during August.  He said they had resigned themselves to the fact it would be a problem they would have to deal with, until the new hospital was finished in 2011. 
However, the problem of overcrowding is not exclusively a hospital problem.  A report released last week revealed that the average family doctor on the island can see on average 31.5 patients a day.  The spokesman for the Medical Union, Nacho Fernandez, claimed this figure was far higher than the 24 patients recommended by the Government.  He said any figure over this meant the doctor was not dedicating a sufficient amount of time to the patient.  He also revealed that in reality the figure was most probably far higher, with most doctors seeing around 40 patients a day.  The worst medical centre was San Antonio, while the least congested was es Viver with an average of “just” 29.6 patients.   

Rubbish Reorganisation
The Town Hall of Ibiza announced on Friday they would be reorganising their rubbish collection within the municipality, to try and cope with the increase in containers introduced over the last six months.  The councillor in charge, Joan Rubio, said they were currently working to their maximum capacity and that more trucks and personnel would be needed to improve the service. 
There are currently 420 normal bins in the municipal, 155 glass bins and 114 each for plastic and paper/carton waste.  The collection of recycled material increased by 27.3 per cent last year, with a total of 3,730 tonnes collected.  Of this, 2,217 was paper and cartons, 1,146 glass and 367 plastic.   
However Rubio confirmed there was still a long way to go, revealing that each resident currently generates a total of 800 kilos of rubbish, just 15 per cent of which is made up of recycled material.  He said much more promotion was needed to ensure residents reach the 100 kilos of rubbish per person recommended by most environmentalist groups.   

SAN ANTONIO

Horseplay
San Antonio was filled with the sound and smell of animals on Thursday as the municipality celebrated its Saints day.  Saint Anthony was the patron saint of domestic animals, as well as a whole host of other things.  The celebration began in the main square of the paseo maritimo with a variety of animals being blessed by the local priest, Vicent Colomar.  The most popular pet was, not surprisingly, the dog, which also kept the number of cats down.  However, an assortment of animals were brought to the centre to be blessed including rabbits, horses, canaries and a snake. 
The celebration continued with a church service in honour of Saint Anthony, before the festivities continued with a variety of shows in the marquee in the centre of town. 

SAN JOSE

Laid Bare
The Town Hall of San Jose announced on Monday the start of a campaign to promote the beaches within the municipality.  The first part of the project will include “stripping bare” Cala Moli beach.  The councillor in charge, Maria Angeles Mostazo, said she would not be granting any concessions for either sunbeds or parasols in the hope of bringing a more “natural” feel to the area.  She also added that her administration would be ensuring that the facilities on all of the beaches within the municipality, including showers, bathroom facilities and life-saving equipment, were in good condition.  She revealed data had been collected on the various beaches from September of last year, and would be used to try and improve facilities where necessary. 
She also divulged that her party had been undertaking a study into the number of hotels beds available during the winter, to study whether there was enough capacity for the low-season needs of the municipality, and had not given up hope of convincing other establishments to stay open.      

New Office
The new post office in San Jordi was opened on Saturday, to the delight of the many residents.  The office will hopefully improve the service received by up to 10,000 residents.  As well as benefiting the village of San Jordi, it will also serve the areas of San Jose, falling under the postal codes 07817 and 07818.  In addition to the 1,200 new post boxes available within the 266 square metre building, all the normal post office services will be available, including sending letters and packages, charging mobile telephones, payment of bills and the sending of money to any destination in the world.  The office can also be used by clients of Deutsche Bank for all their banking needs.

SANTA EULALIA

Work Interrupted
The Town Hall of Santa Eulalia has stopped work on three buildings in the municipality, as the administration tries to get to grips with the new building regulations introduced last year by the Govern Balear.  The mayor, Vicent Mari, explained he initially did not know whether to stop the three constructions, and so consulted the department of Urban Planning at the Govern.  They informed him the work should be halted and that the mayor needed to order the closure of the sites.  Their demands were carried out on Tuesday.
The new regulations introduced last month specifically mentioned Roca Llisa as one of the areas which would be protected.
The three buildings are all family homes, all of which are close to being completed.  Mari said he did not agree with the decision, and said he would now have the task of dealing with the complaints from people who had building licences which were granted before the new laws were introduced.  He continued that the houses would now remain unfinished, which had a far more negative effect on the aesthetics of the area.  He added he had written a letter to the Govern explaining the problem in more detail, and asking for a final decision to be made.     
The Consell, however, revealed they had asked the Town Hall to stop work on the buildings back in December, claiming the constructions infringed the new protected zone.

CRIME & INCIDENTS

Wife Sent Down
The wife of Francis Downey, the suspected drugs baron, was jailed last week for a total of twelve months for money laundering offences.  Rita Downey, 51, spent hundreds of thousands of pounds belonging to her husband on various properties in their home town of Liverpool, despite the fact she had only ever worked for a total of three months in Marks and Spencer. 
Francis Downey is currently on the run and is thought to be hiding out in Spain.  He is rumoured to have been involved in a drugs ring that attempted to smuggle 684 kilos of cocaine onto the island in 2006.  The plot was unravelled in a police investigation code-named “Operation Eire”.   
Liverpool Crown Court heard how Mrs. Downey bought a riverside flat within the city with a single cash payment of L117,000 from an offshore trading account.  She followed this up by buying a L146,000 flat which was again purchased using a significant amount of cash.  These purchases came after she had paid off the rest of her mortgage on their family home in Childwall in 1999, again with one payment.
Mrs. Downey admitted money laundering.  However, she claimed that while she realised her husband was involved in some type of criminal activity, she denied she knew it involved drugs, an assertion described as dubious by the sentencing judge. 
The drugs operations began during the 1990´s, and involved huge shipments arriving in Ibiza from South America from where they were distributed to the mainland.  Francis Downey was suspected of being a major player in the operation.
In the dock alongside his mother was the couple’s 20-year old son, Francis Downey Jr.  He was sent to a young offenders institute after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice, after it became clear he had removed the SIM card from a mobile telephone which contained conversations that implicated his father. 
The whereabouts of Francis Downey is still unknown.

SPORTS

Fountains and High Walls
Old Chinese proverb says, "Man who speaks with fountain of knowledge should not stand on high wall!" As an observer and commentator of the Ibiza rugby team I gave a harsh and critical report about last weeks performance in Manacor, Majorca. This weeks´ performance against old rivals El Toro could not have proved a greater contrast.
Man of the match Vicente Planells Guasch played an outstanding game and is the epitome of Ibiza's forward play. His appetite for work in open play was veracious and his technical work in both the line and scrum were exceptional. He laid down an early marker running a fine angle off fly half Dan Darvey to carve up El Toro's defence drawing four players into the tackle, staying strong on his feet and presenting quick clean ball for his scrum half; this split the defence and opened up space on the left for the three quarters to run in an easy early try.
This pattern was repeated and lead to four more tries within the first 30 minutes. Firstly, the forwards making hard direct yards, drawing in El Toro's defence and producing very quick and clean ball for an organised back line who moved the ball at speed, through the hands into wide spaces for the back three to work. It was in stark contrast to last weeks´ performance and even though the final score-line Ibiza 68 - 3 El Toro was less than the previous week it is worthy of note their opponents were a considerably better organised side and the style in which it was accomplished was far more structured and disciplined.
Indeed their disciplined approach allowed them to play expansive and wide rugby. It resulted in a hat full of tries for the backs Dani Juan, Mauricio Paez, Andre Ionescou, Jorge Royes and Pablo Mammoni. It was exciting to see the half backs firing and the three quarters, running straight drawing their opposite number and releasing the man outside into space. This pack is a well oiled machine and now has the strength in depth, even in the absence of their captain Sebastian "Tonga" Brit for most of the game, to dominate its opposition. With a tight front three led by Diego Fernandez, a hardworking second row of Plannells and Vacar and back row with pace, power and an increasing ability to link with the back line. Indeed when the forward replacements of David Corell, Sebastian Sola and Danni Bruner in the backs the rhythm and playing patterns were maintained. Thankfully captain Sebastian Brito came through the last 20 minutes unscathed after nursing a shoulder injury for a few weeks, but still looking lively and very dangerous.
There is still work to be done and the real test of this team will come on Saturday when they travel to Majorca to play top of the league Bahia. It is a must win game and remains to be seen whether this team can continue to play fast wide rugby against tough opposition. They have shown they have the skills and the ability and for this as commentator I fall on my sword, or rather from a high wall. I have no doubt I will fall even further if Saturdays game is played in the same way this game was played, outstanding from all the squad.

El Blackos

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