Leonor Heredia is 63 years old and has been running her small grocery store in Ceuta for more than three decades. For years, opening the business every morning was part of her routine, until an incident that took place in front of her store completely changed the way she works.
According to what she told El Español, one morning around 60 young immigrants tried to force their way into the store. In the middle of the commotion, Heredia was headbutted and ended up with an injury to her foot. The National Police arrived at the scene, and ultimately no products were taken from the establishment.
But the consequences for her did not end that day. Heredia says that she has lived with anxiety ever since and has even stopped leaving the house out of fear. She also changed her schedule: whereas she used to open at around 8 in the morning, she now waits until 11.
Her store is barely 10 square meters, and to feel safer, she decided to place the counter at the entrance as a kind of barrier. As a result, customers can no longer enter the store freely, and she remains protected behind the counter while serving them.
Heredia says that she has paid into the system for more than 40 years, but that she also cannot stop working because the pension she would receive would be too low. “I don’t have military personnel at the door to protect me”, she explained to the Spanish outlet. After more than 30 years behind the same counter, she now says that she works facing the door and thinking about how to protect herself.