MADRID: Spain's "indignant" protesters against economic injustice, who once inspired a global uprising, seem to have vanished from the headlines right at the peak of a financial crisis.
But that does not mean they have given up. In fact, far from the public squares they once occupied in their tens of thousands in a blaze of publicity, the "indignants" are building an extraordinary street-level network to help those hardest hit by economic hardship.
Jhenny, a 35-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant whose declined to give her family name, said she struggles to provide for her family, with her husband out of work for more than a year.
When in need, she can go to a free food bank in southern Madrid's working class district of Usera and stock up on potatoes, carrots, apples and other fresh produce for her family.
"I get all my fruit and vegetables here. It is a huge help," she said, resting on a chair surrounded by plastic bags packed with groceries.
But the food bank is not run by the Church or a charity. It was set up in January by the "indignants".
It is an example of how the movement, which emerged in May 2011 to decry sky-high unemployment and the economic system it blames for the crisis, has shifted its focus to building the just society it advocates.
When their protest camps were dismantled, the activists set up neighbourhood associations that now run food banks for the poor, "time banks" where people can exchange favours and a cooperative.
"Indignant" activists rally supporters to block home evictions; help homeless families to occupy empty flats; run a legal advice office; and broadcast reports on the movement via an online TV station.
"We are trying to create a more sustainable and fairer economy," said activist Diego Gutierrez as he loaded a red van with a bag of potatoes donated to the Usera food bank by a Romanian couple's vegetable shop.
While attendance at neighbourhood assemblies of "indignants" has plummeted, those left are more determined.
"We had 1,600 people at our first assembly. Now there are around 18 who come but they are more committed," said Gutierrez, a 41-year-old psychologist who works as a school counsellor a few hours per week.
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