After 2001, homeless immigrants began occupying some military barracks that had been abandoned by the Spanish Ministry of Defense. Some 1,000 people of at least 30 different nationalities found a roof to live under on the 90,000 meters squared of surface area. Although they did not have water or electricity, the ingenuity and resistance of their inhabitants converted the old barracks into the largest occupied house in Europe. On February 9, 2004, more than one hundred anti-riot police proceeded to evacuate the site. In just a few hours, the mechanical arms of demolition machines knocked the buildings down.

For many immigrants who have achieved their dream of arriving in a country where they think things will be better for them, the reality sometimes turns into a nightmare. Alone, with no knowledge of the language, “without papers” which lead them to unemployment or illegal employment, they must re-weave their new life sleeping in the street, surviving on the generosity of a few, wandering the streets of the confusing world of consumption. Some of them will be arrested and deported to their countries of origin with the frustration and drama of the failure achieved; others will attain their objectives and will find a job that justifies the extraordinary sacrifice they have made.