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The group of albergues thieves has been arrested by the Guardia Civil.

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gmag

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Time of past OR future Camino
frances 1998, 2000, 2013
It is great news!
I summarize and translate:

The group of hostel thieves has been arrested by the Guardia Civil.
108 criminal facts have been clarified. Five people have been arrested and another 7 have been charged. All domiciled in Bilbao. 66 mobile phones have been recovered.
They acted in two ways, entering some of them as pilgrims, and opening the doors at night to their friends, who were stealing quietly, and entering hours of heavy influx of pilgrims, and stealing money, jewelry and mobile phones.
They acted in Rioja and Navarra, mainly.
They also stole in hospitals, health centers, works - workers' lockers.
The leader of the group has entered prison.


The news has been published here:
https://www.larioja.com/la-rioja/sucesos/grupo-delictivo-dedicado-20190725091053-nt.html#
 
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This is great news, thank you for sharing.
It must be a great relief for pilgrims and hospitaleros alike
.

animated-smileys-brutal-violent-220.gif
 
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I received the news from Angel, from Los Arcos pension, in Los Arcos, Navarra.
Angel is very active in everything related to the safety and well-being of pilgrims. It is one of those unknown but important figures for the Camino.
Buen Camino to all!!
 
Brilliant - you gotta love the Spanish police, they never give up! If only Spain still had slave galleys!!
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Seriously? :(

Well, the slave galleys was a joke, but criminals? Absolutely. A person chooses. I give no mercy at all to professional criminals. In Russia, if you choose to become a professional criminal and are then caught and imprisoned you lose all citizens rights, you become a non-citizen (until you are released), because by choosing against your society you chose against your society and are seen as no longer a member of it.

Spain has a huge number of police in three forces, they are everywhere and Spain has just one eighth of the crime that we have in the UK - says it all don't you think?
 
That's great news! It was devastating in Roncesvalles to get up at 5.30am to find at least 15 distressed pilgrims downstairs, who had lost their valuables, phones, everything! Buen Camino everyone, keep yourself and your valuables safe and secure. From a hospitalera who was there when it happened.
 
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Well, the slave galleys was a joke, but criminals? Absolutely. A person chooses. I give no mercy at all to professional criminals. In Russia, if you choose to become a professional criminal and are then caught and imprisoned you lose all citizens rights, you become a non-citizen (until you are released), because by choosing against your society you chose against your society and are seen as no longer a member of it.

Spain has a huge number of police in three forces, they are everywhere and Spain has just one eighth of the crime that we have in the UK - says it all don't you think?

My response of “Seriously?” was in direct response to your comment about slave galleys. In no way am I condoning criminal behavior.

It is extremely distressing to me when the institution of slavery or any kind of human repression is joked about or made light of. This only serves to undermine the seriousness of the horrors associated with the systematic repression, imprisonment and brutal treatment of human beings and ultimately perpetuates racism.

My response may be heading into political territory but we are living in dangerous times when eroding human rights and condoned microaggressions are on the rise world wide. We must be careful in the words we use and the context in which they are used.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Great news! And a fairly confident that any discussion on this forum will have NO influence on Spanish criminal law enforcement. I just happy that pilgrims will have one less group of thieves to deal with (although it's always good to be reminded to be cautious).
 
I too applaud the work of the police in cracking this ring of robbers. There are/will be others, no doubt. It is a moment to be reminded though that it is the duty of everyone to be utterly careful of her/his property. I had to go back to my bunk more than once last week to pick up my waist pack when I went to the shower room. I just hope that some of those who have been robbed can be reunited with their property.
 
My response of “Seriously?” was in direct response to your comment about slave galleys. In no way am I condoning criminal behavior.

It is extremely distressing to me when the institution of slavery or any kind of human repression is joked about or made light of. This only serves to undermine the seriousness of the horrors associated with the systematic repression, imprisonment and brutal treatment of human beings and ultimately perpetuates racism.

My response may be heading into political territory but we are living in dangerous times when eroding human rights and condoned microaggressions are on the rise world wide. We must be careful in the words we use and the context in which they are used.

Ah, I understand. Please accept my apologies .. so easy to do a throw away line and actually distress someone, my bad.
During the days of sail slaves were used on fast oared boats, galleys, the French sentenced prisoners to them as late as the 1740's I think, and their lives were terrible. It was very much a one way ticket.

I feel sorry for criminals, that they have so lost their way (I speak of professional criminals here) and I don't actually seek vengeance or revenge or harm against of them, only that they lose their rights and are taken out of society for a time and hopefully helped in that time to alter their lives.

I have taken your upset on board and shall not make that sort of comment again, I meant no disrespect to the history of any people, my apologies.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
It is great news!
I summarize and translate:

The group of hostel thieves has been arrested by the Guardia Civil.
108 criminal facts have been clarified. Five people have been arrested and another 7 have been charged. All domiciled in Bilbao. 66 mobile phones have been recovered.
They acted in two ways, entering some of them as pilgrims, and opening the doors at night to their friends, who were stealing quietly, and entering hours of heavy influx of pilgrims, and stealing money, jewelry and mobile phones.
They acted in Rioja and Navarra, mainly.
They also stole in hospitals, health centers, works - workers' lockers.
The leader of the group has entered prison.


The news has been published here:
https://www.larioja.com/la-rioja/sucesos/grupo-delictivo-dedicado-20190725091053-nt.html#
I’ve always been careful but had a blind faith on the Way. Will be very careful in future. Note, it’s not pilgrims but rather, a gang of thieves. Thanks for the timely warning.
 
Hola! Its been almost a month since the last posting on this thread... Is it me or am I right in feeling that since the arrest of this den of thieves there have been fewer - even NO MORE postings concerning phone and money thefts from Albergues? I log-in regularly to this forum and am on Camino from the 11th Sep. so have been keeping an eye on the theiving problems. It seems that this group of theives may have been central to, or the only criminals causing all the theft problems in Albergues for pilgrims along the northern routes. Are there any statistics available since the arrests?
I know, I here you calling but but... still take care! There are oportunists theives and other problems. But enjoy and savour your Camino, and its a relief to know this group are in custody.
Buen Camino friends
Keith
 
Hola! Its been almost a month since the last posting on this thread... Is it me or am I right in feeling that since the arrest of this den of thieves there have been fewer - even NO MORE postings concerning phone and money thefts from Albergues? I log-in regularly to this forum and am on Camino from the 11th Sep. so have been keeping an eye on the theiving problems. It seems that this group of theives may have been central to, or the only criminals causing all the theft problems in Albergues for pilgrims along the northern routes. Are there any statistics available since the arrests?
I know, I here you calling but but... still take care! There are oportunists theives and other problems. But enjoy and savour your Camino, and its a relief to know this group are in custody.
Buen Camino friends
Keith
Hello Keith,
The largest group was arrested. That is what we know in the albergues where we take this problem very seriously. But, as far as I know, there are some "suspected" thieves without stopping. We have the name and face of a woman from Italy. There are still two men, one Spanish and one from Venezuela, who walk together. The funny thing is that the Venezuelan is dressed and wears women's makeup, although it seems that he has a man's face. It is a strange way to get attention and want to go unnoticed... We have their names.
 
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Buenas noches gmag. Thank you for the tip. I and my friend have regestered with the Police APP, which is a great service for the pilgrims. Good luck and thank you for your diligence and care for us pilgrims. I don't think many of us realise how much 'background' work must be going on to keep us safely on our Way.
Keith
 
My response of “Seriously?” was in direct response to your comment about slave galleys. In no way am I condoning criminal behavior.

It is extremely distressing to me when the institution of slavery or any kind of human repression is joked about or made light of. This only serves to undermine the seriousness of the horrors associated with the systematic repression, imprisonment and brutal treatment of human beings and ultimately perpetuates racism.

My response may be heading into political territory but we are living in dangerous times when eroding human rights and condoned microaggressions are on the rise world wide. We must be careful in the words we use and the context in which they are used.

Oh gods, the word police.
Next comes the thought police.
Can we get past 1984?
I'm pretty sure we all knew what he meant.
 
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Some things are just too important.
Words do matter!

Sabine, I just respectfully disagree.
Thought control and word control are real dangers in my opinion.

Those who object to the word "slave" appear to be assuming all slaves were black. Am I wrong here?

The fact is, there is pretty much NO racial group who has not kept slaves or been enslaved, including Native Americans, Asian, Celt, Greek, Roman, and on back as far as history goes. And many of those, including Africans and Native Americans, enslaved their own people. The history of African slavery in the United States only lasted 245 years. Compared to slavery in other parts of the world, this is a very short time. MOST slaves throughout history were not black at all. Anyway, that's a whole other discussion.

You can't erase history by erasing words, books, plays.
By doing so you risk repeating the horrors.

I just am very concerned that people must police words.
In this case, it was obvious what was meant -

Maybe I'm just being touchy. I'll think about it.
 
Sabine, I just respectfully disagree.
Thought control and word control are real dangers in my opinion.

Those who object to the word "slave" appear to be assuming all slaves were black. Am I wrong here?

The fact is, there is pretty much NO racial group who has not kept slaves or been enslaved, including Native Americans, Asian, Celt, Greek, Roman, and on back as far as history goes. And many of those, including Africans and Native Americans, enslaved their own people. The history of African slavery in the United States only lasted 245 years. Compared to slavery in other parts of the world, this is a very short time. MOST slaves throughout history were not black at all. Anyway, that's a whole other discussion.

You can't erase history by erasing words, books, plays.
By doing so you risk repeating the horrors.

I just am very concerned that people must police words.
In this case, it was obvious what was meant -

Maybe I'm just being touchy. I'll think about it.


Kindly add the Eurpeans in times not so long ago:

In Algiers during the time of the Regency of Algiers in North Africa in the 19th century, 1.5 million Christians and Europeans were captured and forced into slavery
 
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Kindly add the Eurpeans in times not so long ago:

In Algiers during the time of the Regency of Algiers in North Africa in the 19th century, 1.5 million Christians and Europeans were captured and forced into slavery

Given that there is modern slavery legislation enacted only in the last decade it’s reasonable to assume it’s a current and ongoing issue. In the UK it’s reportedly connected with domestic service in connection with families from the Middle East, with prostitution, car washing and nail-bars.

Surely we cannot blacklist these words because we’re vicariously offended on the behalf of others?

No pun intended.
 
Errrrrr.... can we get back onto the main issue of this thread - the successful arrests of the northern gang who were stealing from albergues. The emotive issues in the last few threads are not for this thread. Apologies have been made. And I realise that the behaviour of the criminals stealing from pilgrims is also emotive and we would like to see justice done, which it will be.
The last poignant message is from gmag: it appears that there are a number of other suspects to be apprehended, so still take care whilst making the most of your Camino. It does seem that less crime in the northern regions is being reported on this forum since the gangs arrest, which is very good and down to the hard and professional work of the Police.
Best wishes to you all. Keith
 
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Cervantes, 1599-1660, autor of Don Quijote, was slave in Oran.
Okay - if you want to continue with the topic of slavery then its up to you. Its your thread.
Best regards. K
 
@Anniesantiago, I wasn't going to react but you made an interesting comment. So I looked up the two words in question in Wikipedia (it's two words belonging together, not the one word that was picked out). Turns out that it was about punishment of convicted criminals, as practised in the Middle Ages and later by Spain and other Mediterranean powers. I recommend a visit to the Maritime Museum in Barcelona.

I didn't know that, actually. I was thinking Roman galleys initially, what else?
 
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@Anniesantiago, I wasn't going to react but you made an interesting comment. So I looked up the two words in question in Wikipedia (it's two words belonging together, not the one word that was picked out). Turns out that it was about punishment of convicted criminals, as practised in the Middle Ages and later by Spain and other Mediterranean powers. I recommend a visit to the Maritime Museum in Barcelona.

I didn't know that, actually. I was thinking Roman galleys initially, what else?
At the maritime museum in Barcelona they have a full-scale replica galley which would have been crewed by ‘slaves’. As you say, my understanding is that these were convicted criminals.

They were chained in place throughout any given voyage. The accompanying commentary explained that with the wind in the right direction you could smell a galley approaching before you could see it.

(Keith - sorry but this looks like the direction it’s going)
 
@Anniesantiago, I wasn't going to react but you made an interesting comment. So I looked up the two words in question in Wikipedia (it's two words belonging together, not the one word that was picked out). Turns out that it was about punishment of convicted criminals, as practised in the Middle Ages and later by Spain and other Mediterranean powers. I recommend a visit to the Maritime Museum in Barcelona.

I didn't know that, actually. I was thinking Roman galleys initially, what else?

Countries with a maritime history like the UK, France and the Netherlands for instance have lots of references in their everyday language to the life and practices at sea, including punishments it is part of the history, heritage and culture.
 
Countries with a maritime history like the UK, France and the Netherlands for instance have lots of references in their everyday language to the life and practices at sea, including punishments it is part of the history, heritage and culture.
Apparently, aller aux galères and andare in galera, literally translated into English as to go on a galley are still commonly used in French resp. in Italian to say that someone goes to prison or had been handed a severe sentence by a judge.
 
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Several people I was with were pickpocketed in Pamplona. Probably the usual tourist-in-city issue if putting phones and wallets in unsecured pockets.
 
Sabine, I just respectfully disagree.
Thought control and word control are real dangers in my opinion.

Those who object to the word "slave" appear to be assuming all slaves were black. Am I wrong here?

The fact is, there is pretty much NO racial group who has not kept slaves or been enslaved, including Native Americans, Asian, Celt, Greek, Roman, and on back as far as history goes. And many of those, including Africans and Native Americans, enslaved their own people. The history of African slavery in the United States only lasted 245 years. Compared to slavery in other parts of the world, this is a very short time. MOST slaves throughout history were not black at all. Anyway, that's a whole other discussion.

You can't erase history by erasing words, books, plays.
By doing so you risk repeating the horrors.

I just am very concerned that people must police words.
In this case, it was obvious what was meant -

Maybe I'm just being touchy. I'll think about it.
Well said and very on point!
 
Okay - if you want to continue with the topic of slavery then its up to you. Its your thread.
Best regards. K
Keith, thank you ... and you are right in some way, but in today's Spain any data or reference to whites as victims is beginning to be censored, whether in history or in the present, and my tendency to be politically incorrect has pushed me to give a historical fact that children are no longer taught in schools. I have not been able to avoid it. ..
Best regards, Gabriel
 
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I'm locking this thread. Not because any member has breached any rule to any great extent; And not because the topic now being discussed isn't a crucial one for our modern societies but because the discussion has moved far beyond the OP.

Members may wish to follow any of the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/modern-slavery


 
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