Freedom and Catalonia - Steemit
You have probably seen the unrest in Barcelona with the Spanish government trying to stop the Catalan people from exercising their right to vote for independence from Spain.
I have some insight I would like to share about the Situation in Spain, first I would like to say I’m not Spanish or Catalan, I’m from the UK, England to be precise, however, I did live in Barcelona between 2005 and 2006, and in that time I managed to not only grasp the language reasonably well but I got to understand the cultural differences between the various tribes/groups that exist in Spain.
Growing up I always thought of Spain as one country, I never knew there were different types of Spanish, however later on in early adulthood, I met a few Spanish people in London and this is when I first heard about Basques having their own language which is not Spanish or Latin, and how they wanted independence from Spain, however I knew nothing about other parts of Spain until I moved to Barcelona.
When I landed in late January of 2005, a friend picked me up from the airport, on the drive back to his apartment, I told him how I had bought an English/Spanish translation book, and it was at this point he explained the people in Barcelona and its surrounding areas although they appear to be Spanish they consider themselves as Catalans, and hate the Spanish.
Now I have to admit I was slightly confused, however, my friend was eager to enlighten me just as he had been enlightened when he first learned about the fascinating world of Catalonia.
Which is, you have different regions such as Castile, Galicia, Basque, Andalusia, and Catalonia, all of which have distinctly different cultures and heritages, and these differences go back millennia and are very personal, my friend wasn’t wrong when he said, I will make sense of it, all in good time.
The first thing I noticed was on the Metro is the announcements were first in Catalan and then in Castile Spanish, although both sound similar there are notable differences, it was from here I came to the realization that these regional differences ran deep.
Another thing I quickly learnt was the hostility the Catalans had towards the Castille and there government who by the way is where the Spanish royal family come from, stems from Francisco Franco the dictator, who oppressed the Catalans for over 4 decades, even 30 years after the death of Franco and his totalitarian regime, the wounds are still fresh in the minds of every Catalan family, if ever you visit Barcelona or any other Catalan city or town you will see numerous old folk all well looked after by their families, it is these elderly who remind the young of the oppression they endured.
I use to visit a local Tapas bar around the corner from where I worked, and I specifically came here because they served Moritz on Tap, The Spanish make good beers but for me this is there best, one day the owner came to sit with me and said in broken English that he was proud to see me always opt for the local Moritz beer over more internationally known brands, he said that during the Franco reign, Moritz beer was banned but the government couldn’t stop the Catalans from secretly brewing and consuming it, I could see in his eyes how proud he was that his people were able to outwit their oppressors.
Out of all the tribes on the Iberian peninsula, none are more shrewd with money than the Catalonians, the region is completely self-sufficient, they are often referred to as the Jews of Spain because these guys don't miss a trick.
These Catalans are humble, they know how to save money and look after their own, they are incredibly rich but equally modest, this is where you realise they had to be with the Spanish government quick to extort there hard earned wealth.
Catalonia is the cash cow of Spain, their frugality is the complete opposite of the Castilian government who excessively spend, creating debt that all the other regions of Spain have to pay off and as for the shameless Spanish Royal family with there endless financial scandals you can see why the Catalans say they aren’t our royal family.
Personally, I wish this referendum never happened and Spain was the way I ignorantly remembered it, before I discovered that millions of people want freedom from this place we call Spain.
This is a defining moment in history, and I believe what is happening in Catalonia and Spain will be the trigger that will lead to a series of events that will lead to the disintegration of the Euro and the European Union.
by hook or by crook the Catalans will get their freedom.
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