CATALONIA VS SPAIN
Let's talk clearly from the
respect and from the heart. I don't want to be rude nor silly, but lately the
country [some call it a region] where I have been living for the last 30 years
is facing some of the most difficult moments of its history.
This is a fact and a statement
nobody can deny.
The thing is that lately, the
Spanish financial situation is far from being buoyant. I might even use the
word catastrophic to define more accurately what is happening in the land of "Spain
is different".
The whole country and its 17
autonomies are going through very difficult times and we, the people, have to
be highly grateful to our politicians and our bankers, for all the crappy mess
they have left us.
But the situation is especially
poignant in Catalonia. For those of you who have no idea about the current
conflict going on in this Spanish autonomy I think I might as well explain a
few things to give you the tools to understand what is going on.
Where and how should I
begin...? Let me start by underlining the fact that Catalonia has its own
language, and as a Catalan I am bilingual, which I am particularly proud of.
Bilingualism is fantastic, I don't see it as a handicap, but it is meanly the
reason why the rest of the Iberian Peninsula call us "Polacos"
[Polish]; no need to mention that the nick is far from being a friendly one.
According to my own experience
I must say that up to that point there is absolutely nothing new for me. I have
grown up feeling different and I don't mind being tagged as a 'Polaca".
Polish people are pretty nice and cool.
I am an open-minded woman
brought up in France where my parents emigrated in the sixties. My education
was thus French but above all I was taught to be respectful, tolerant, and
polite.
I am no saint, and don't
pretend to be one, and my own religion is People.
I can curse and get screwed or
even get pissed off though it is hard for me to lose control and become harsh
and disrespectful.
I am more the "easy going
type" or the "live and let live stereotype" and amongst my
friends I have a wide range of social backgrounds. I accept their religion,
their languages, their cultures, their social status ...and their defaults and
qualities. But, all of them have a common feature: THEY ARE RESPECFUL with one
another.
And then there is the money,
money, money, money enormous problem: Catalonia is bled more than the rest of
the Spanish territory. Catalonia is in bankruptcy and yet Catalan people pay
more taxes then other regions and its people is mistreated and insulted by a
part of the narrow minded Spanish citizens. The thing is going on for more than
300 years now, but... since last September 11th [La Diada - national
celebration in Catalonia], where a popular
and peaceful demonstration of almost 2 million people went out on the
street to express their discomfort and their will to live in a better society,
things are moving forward.
There is a kind of in
crescendo activity amongst the Catalan Government Institutions; they are
opening windows and dusting the whole house causing a lot of troubles to the
Central Spanish Government and the Spanish Royal Family, something similar to a
pain in the ass, I am talking about the Catalan attitude, not about royalty
obviously.
Up to this point, I would like
to say that our King is probably living, since a few years now, his own
"annus horribilis" and its multiples too if I may say; his remaining
son-in-law is having huge financial problems with the law and the situation
could be just sarcastic if it wasn't that serious, but our Royal Family is not
relevant in that case. Its basements are insecure and trembling, just standing
on pillars of sand.
So let's come back to the
people. The Catalan society seems to be divided; some want to be independent
and some want to stay in Spain. The thing has come to a point of no return or
so it seems as the Catalan Parliament has arranged elections for November 25th,
to see if the Catalan society wants a referendum about Independence.
And that's the point where the
pot is steaming. The rest of Spain is in disagreement with such a decision and
will, what else could be expected, and instead of being open to negotiations,
they keep threatening and some retired military officers even say that tanks
might as well invade Catalonia like in the past.
Dear old history ready to
repeat itself again, but things are not like they were in 1939 and that is such
a relief.
I would like to end this brief
explanation of mine with the words of Dalai Lama: OUR MAIN PURPOSE IN THIS LIFE
IS TO HELP OTHERS AND IF WE CAN'T HELP THEM AT LEAST DON'T HURT THEM.
This is exactly my demand.
Please stop hurting us, watch your words and be respectful.
Thank you. Graciés.
