Former Capital Times journalist, 23 year old Sophie Schroder has been dealing with the trials and tribulations of living in Spain, the most-in-debt country in the European Union. She went along to the 10,000 people strong protests in Barcelona, where the young generation voiced their unhappiness about their shaky future amid country wide unrest at the state of the economy . The Socialist Party suffered heavy election losses.
To chants of ‘the people united will never be defeated’, thousands of young Spaniards took back the main city square in Barcelona that has become the symbol of a new ‘revolution’.
While protests over the recent Spanish general elections are present throughout the country, in the state of Cataluña, they are particularly strong. Three weeks ago young disenfranchised people in Barcelona who have labelled themselves ‘Los Indignados’ - the indignant - took the main square, Plaça de Catalunya for their own.
In this square, about the size of Waitangi Park, they erected a mini township complete with a community garden, a crèche, and stalls offering everything from food to free legal services. Protesters call this area ‘a new state within a state’, and it functions surprisingly well: Toilets are available, and there are rubbish and recycling bins crafted out of cardboard boxes.For a fresh young New Zealander, such a protest is both enlightening and a little overwhelming.
Although Wellington is often labelled the political powerhouse of the country, I find it hard to imagine a Wellingtonian (or indeed any Kiwi) dedicated enough to live in a tent in protest for more than a couple of nights, even though to be fair our issues are on a much smaller scale. I also can’t foresee our government and police allowing such a movement to take place for very long, but in Barcelona people were left alone for two weeks. On May 27, however the State had had enough. The riot squad and a cleaning team were sent to clear the square and return it to being a pretty tourist thoroughfare.
Perhaps they didn’t bank on the strength and number of the indignados. The plaza was cleared of tents, but the crowds surged forward until the police had no choice but to let the protestors back inside. Much of the crowd held a sit-in to hold the square, while the rest chased the riot squad back to their vans.
Inspired by the youth protests in Libya and Egypt, the Spanish movement has similarly been organised through online social networks. And while the issues surrounding it are present in many Western countries, they are more pertinent in Spain, the country with the highest unemployment in the European Union and a youth unemployment level of 45 percent.
Because Spain’s debt is said to be greater than that of Portugal, Ireland, and Greece, the Socialist Government was forced to cut funding to many social services in 2010. For the youth, this means they will miss out on social allowances, including free medical care, which their parents enjoyed. More worryingly, many can’t find work.
The protestors in Plaça de Catalunya don’t accept this, and say the problem lies with capitalism and the greed of the government, the private sector, and the banks.They say that if they can’t afford to live, then they will live in their square free. As well as these protests all over Spain, 550,000 young people handed in a ‘blank vote’ to show their indignation.
I attended the riot on May 27 not only as a journalist and a young person struggling to find work in Spain, but also as a Wellingtonian, aware that the issues here are not unique: They are present on our own turf as well. Think of the recession and its impacts on small businesses and unemployment. Think of the rising housing market, the effects of capitalism, and the problems with transparency in our own Government and local council. As a 23-year-old I perceive that these are all problems we are set to inherit, and it’s refreshing to see people of my generation fighting for their future intelligently.
Los Indignados know they can’t win this fight through violence, and in Plaça de Catalunya the difference between the pacifist protestors and the heavy-handed police was embarrassingly stark. Those who tried to make a break for the middle of the square were hit with batons until they stopped, and the constant noise of police rifles shooting blanks was rattling.
I was pushed over by one of the riot squad while standing in an authorised area for no particular reason, and by the end of the day, the injured number at least 100. But the ‘revolutionaries’ didn’t strike back: Instead they used symbols and words to win their cause.
And win they did. With the authorities gone, the tents have been re-erected, the signs have been raised, and the music is playing once again. Now it’s been three weeks since the first tent was erected, and the little town is alive and well.
My future will one day be back in Wellington. The riots in Barcelona have made me realise how important it is be aware and willing to fight to keep it that way.
Sophie Schroder