Gibraltar and La Línea de la Concepción enjoy a close relationship. But changes in London and Madrid remind the two communities that a border stands between them.
WHEN EVE MISEIKYTE ARRIVED in La Línea de la Concepción six years ago, the first thing she saw when she stepped out of the taxi was dog shit. Even today, La Línea, as the city of about 62,000 people is known, does not seem inviting. The faded, Andalusian buildings show signs of deterioration, and the city's main boulevard is littered with the metal skeletons of market stalls, full of rubbish instead of wares. Weeds grow wild in La Línea's biggest park, yet another sign of neglect. As the eighteen-year-old knows now, La Línea is one of Spain's poorest cities.