"Today we want to remember a trans girl whose name was Shamira and who was a person, cheerful and young, with her whole life ahead of her." This was the spirit expressed this Friday in the tribute paid by friends and colleagues of the young woman who died due to the fall of a palm tree in Barcelona's central and diverse Raval neighbourhood. In Plaça d'Emili Vendrell, where the accident occurred on Thursday afternoon and where the tribute also took place, candles, floral bouquets, photographs and short messages of remembrance accumulated throughout the day in the space previously occupied by the fateful tree, which has already been cut down.
The event was organized by the Metzineres cooperative, an organization that supports trans women as well as people of binary gender who are drug users and in vulnerable situations. It was a simple but emotional tribute, in which Shamira's friends farewelled her and dedicated a public message to her, followed by a minute of silence. "We want to remember that she was a person much loved by the residents and by the neighbourhood in general," said one of the young woman's friends, a member of the Metzineres group.
Another friend, Diva, explained that she and Shamira considered themselves "sisters", and had two points she wanted to make: firstly, that "trans girls should not be on the street" and as well, that "this must not happen again, they need to inspect the trees and buildings that are in poor condition". In this regard, from the collective they denounced that "the whole neighbourhood had warned" of the bad state of the palm tree that toppled over on Thursday afternoon, and they accused the Barcelona city council of having "disregarded residents' complaints". The council says the tree was inspected visually in March in response to a resident's complaint that it had become more inclined, but "no obvious anomalies" were found. Nevertheless, the council has announced that on Monday it will begin a preventive review of 800 trees with similar characteristics to the date palm that fell.
A young woman with great strength despite adversity
Although Shamira's death was the result of a sudden accident in an area that is usually full of pedestrians, the vulnerability of Shamira, a trans woman who lived on the street, was very present in this Friday's tribute. Another of the young woman's friends, Luana, admitted that she was a "very rebellious girl, a drug user", but denounced that "the system does not work well", and that there are "many factors" that lead to a situation like this. For this reason, she wanted to "remember the good things about a trans girl who was cheerful, playful and proud".
In addition to the Metzineres group, childhood friends of the young woman were also present, who came from the neighbourhood of El Besòs to say goodbye. She was remembered as a "a lot of fun and very strong", a girl with a great ability to keep going despite all the adversities she had faced throughout her life. "She experienced things that not everyone would be able to endure," they said.
"She always called me her sister": a friend and colleague of Shamira explains that she slept in the Plaça Espanya area but came to the Metzineres centre during the day, located in El Raval, the neighbourhood where the accident occurred.