The
OLIVE PRESS
COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA
Nightmare Before Christmas BRITISH expats are understandably in turmoil about their futures in Spain, following the Conservative Party’s huge election victory. Healthcare, pensions and the fate of the pound are bound to keep many of us awake this Christmas, now that Johnson has promised to ‘get Brexit done’ by the end of January. But, while it could be an unsettling festive period ahead, it may not be as bad as many of us fear, believes Our Man in Spain. “No deal is now a very remote possibility and our citizens rights are still in place,” insisted ambassador Hugh Elliot at a meeting with expats on the Costa Blanca this week. Putting a little sparkle back on the Christmas tree, he promised that the same healthcare agreements, uprating of pensions and rights to work will not change for British expats until December next year. And after that period, they will stay ‘the same as long as you remain a resident in Spain’. However, Anne Hernandez of Brexpats in Spain insisted it was still not clear and claimed ‘mounting’ confusion was causing many residents distress, with some even contemplating suicide. “It is putting people under incredible pressure. Some have said; ‘I am so suicidal,’ particularly some of the elderly,” she told the Olive Press this week. British councillor for San Fulgencio, Darren Parmenter, hit back however, criticising the ‘amount of misinformation’ groups like hers have been pedalling. He told the Olive Press that once the current withdrawal agreement was signed everyone would be much more optimistic. “Not once has any of these groups said that, if the withdrawal agreement is passed, you have nothing to worry about,” he slammed. “It might have saved lots of unnecessary panic, ‘feelings of suicide’ and even people selling up and moving back to the UK because of the uncertainties.” Christine Rowlands, chair of Conservatives Abroad on the Costa del Sol, had a more conciliatory view. Despite being a ‘staunch remainer,’ she told the Olive Press she was glad the election result meant Brexit would ‘finally be over’. “The reaction has been good from both sides,” she said. “My members just want the job done.”
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Vol. 1 Issue 4 www.theolivepress.es
Your expat
voice in Spain
December 19th - January 8th, 2020
Fight back EXPATS are being forced to patrol their own streets after a series of violent muggings went mostly unanswered by police. The group of Brits have set up Street Angels, an online community group, following dozens of attacks in their Mar Menor town. With an absence of better policing, the residents of Los Alcazares are convinced it will help to battle the alarming rise in crime. “We needed to come together to create a visible force as many elderly and vulnerable people may not be aware of the risks,” Paul Canfield, 51, told the Olive Press this week. “I was attacked a few years ago and have been vigilant ever since,” added the creator of the group, which has garnered 1,000 members in just a week. The Londoner insisted the forum was peaceful and hoped it would help support victims like expat Patricia Miller, who was violently robbed on December 8 by a man
Brits form neighbourhood watch group to battle ‘scary’ rise in violent muggings
EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade
on a bike. It would also help others, like local author Jacqueline Carpenter, who was violently attacked outside the 525 Hotel on November 30. Recalling the incident, she said: “It was awful. He threw me to the floor, jumped on top of me and wrestled my bag away while my partner was trying to get him off.” Another victim, Jill Francis was pushed to the ground and suffered a broken wrist and needed a metal plate inserted after a vicious robbery.
Struggling “This is not just pickpocketing, these thugs are dangerous and pick on the vulnerable - my worry is that one day they will go too far and kill someone.” Incredibly, within an hour of the interview another Spanish local was robbed of her €600 pension
CRIME FIGHTERS: Members of the expat defence group in broad daylight outside Banco Sabadell. As Canfield added: “You’re in dan-
ger no matter what age, sex or nationality you are.” The group now plans to raise awareness, organise street patrols and promote integration with the overstretched local police force over the Christmas holidays. The group is also looking for official translators who are willing to give their services for one night a month to help foreign victims report attacks to the police.
Patrols
On the slopes with the pros in snowy Granada Page 11
AUTO DIRECT
Home cooking with the biscuit-baking nuns Page 20
It comes with reports that funding is at breaking point due to the cost of the gota fria clean-up from September. This week, Los Alcazares town hall admitted to the Olive Press that it was struggling to cope. “The two floods have admittedly drained our resources and we have less money than we should have due to not enough people registering on the padron,” insisted deputy mayor Pedro Jose Sanchez. Opinion Page 6