Here in Madrid, more than 1,000 people gathered for a peaceful protest Sunday near a shelter for unaccompanied refugee teenagers who have been targeted by frequent verbal and physical attacks by right-wing politicians and street mobs. Last week a hand grenade was thrown over the wall of the shelter in the latest attack. The grenade did not explode until the bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion. This is 17-year-old Abass Fofana, a refugee from Guinea-Bissau who previously lived at the shelter.

Abass Fofana: “What people are doing right now — I no longer feel comfortable living in Spain — it is not right. What I can say is that people should stop what they are doing and leave immigrants alone and let us do what we came here to do: study. Help us get a diploma and work.”

And this is Juan González Martínez, a resident of the Hortaleza neighborhood in Madrid, Spain, where the shelter for refugee youth is located.

Juan González Martínez: “For the past few months, the far-right-wing political party, the fascist VOX, has put a focus on the neighborhood. They have put a focus on targeting these youth for their own electoral and partisan purposes.”