The difference between democracy and imposition

If you are interested at all in Spanish/Catalan politics you will know about the new project of Estatut (the Catalan Charter of Autonomy) that regulates the devolved government of Catalonia.

The last Charter was approved by referendum in 1979 under extreme pressure from the military and the Spanish right. Thus, we find ourselves in a new century ill-equipped to compete in the global economy.

Over the last few months, the new government of Catalonia, made up of 3 left-ish parties, and the moderate nationalists of CiU (who were in power from 1980 until 2 years ago) have all agreed a new Charter. This broad coalition represents 90% of the electorate.

You would think that after such hardship (to get 4 out of 5 parties agree in such an important document) that the will of the elected representatives of Catalonia would be respected. Well, you would be wrong: remember we are talking Spanish politics here!

Why such a stooshie has been formed it is beyond me. After all, this new Charter brings or asks for nothing new, nothing not already available to the Basque Country or Navarre. Yet, we have had to suffer and put up with an incredible barrage of abuse, hate and calls for a boycott to Catalan products. It appears that Spain needs to suppress any sense of Catalan identity, however soft, to reaffirm itself. Dialog does not form part of the Spanish political vocabulary when it comes to Catalonia.

At the forefront of this crusade against Catalonia is, as ever, the Spanish right wing Partido Popular (Conservative Party) and its media allies. Most shocking of all, is that the radio network owned by the Catholic Church (and subsidised by Catholics from all over Spain via the income tax returns) is the leader player in this orgy of lies, hate and xenophobia. The Catalan Catholic Church seems powerless to act against the hardcore hierarchy based in Madrid. As a result, Catalans are voting with their feet and tax donations to the Catholic church are declining fast.

This is what I say to my Spanish friends: the Spanish parliament in Madrid better approve this Charter (a soft one) without any cutbacks before the pro-independence party (ERC) gains more seats in the Catalan Parliament and the Labour party (PSC-PSOE, an uneasy alliance of Spanish Socialists and Catalan federalists) disintegrates.

If you are interested in the Charter, you can find Spanish, Catalan and English language versions in the official site of the Catalan administration:

http://www.gencat.net/nouestatut/

The PSC-PSOE (Labour) has set up this site, trying to explain to Spain what the fuss is about:
http://www.estatuto.info/ (in Catalan and Spanish, including a superb FAQ and a priceless ‘What the fuss is about’ section)

Nonetheless, I am sceptical about any more attempts trying to ‘educate’ Spain about the different cultures and nations within its territory. Catalans have been trying for over 140 years and nothing has changed a bit –well, at least now people don’t get shot for speaking in Catalan and we even have a couple of newspapers and a broadcasting corporation…some progress being able to speak your language and not getting killed!

Some things never change

Well, it has been over a year since my last posting and so much has happened: the right-wing government in Spain was kicked out at the elections in March 2004 (a few days after the train bombs in Madrid) after lying to the public and manipulating the public broadcaster corporation in a massive scale. They tried to blame ETA while they knew fully well it was not them.

There is now a labour government (centre-left) in Spain but some things never change. The right wing press continues to incite hate of all things Catalan and Basque; their behaviour would be classified as xenophobic, fascist and incitement to hatred in any other western democracy. The conservative party, now in opposition, still shows no remorse about their disgraceful behaviour in March 2004.
Catalanophobia in the Madrid-based press is rampant and shows no signs of diminishing. Some things never change.

Shame on Spain

I am disgusted at the Spanish media and the government. The Spanish right is currently in a crusade to eliminate all opposition, be it the Labour party, the Basques (whether pro-independence or not) and the Catalans, no matter how moderate we are.

They want to impose to everyone their idea of Spain: one language, one culture, one nation and no diversity. They want to eliminate any manifestation of Catalan or Basque culture and citizenship. Our forefathers said no in 1936 and they were crushed to death; millions had to exile to France or the Americas.

It is not that different now: newspapers and political parties are being outlawed and media persecution of Catalan culture and nationhood is the new pastime of the Madrid media. Shame on them, because we will never, ever give up our right to be Catalans, whether we form part of Spain or as a free nation in Europe.

The nationalist Spanish media is adopting the same pattern and speech as the Serbian media just before the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. Intimidate, persecute and ultimately eliminate your enemy by any means.

I just hope that the international community comes to the rescue of the Catalan and Basque people before the Madrid government sends in the Army or suppresses our institutions of self-government. I am in Scotland now but I fear for my family and friends. We will need your help to resist this cultural and political genocide by the Spanish right, the heirs of the fascist dictator Franco.

We will never surrender to Spanish Fascism again, I hope this time we get a little more help from the international community.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3499477.stm

Kilt wearing in Scotland

Well, it was a bit weird. People ask you if "you are a true Scot". That is, if you are not wearing any underwear. I have to say that I was wearing a kilt in a true Scottish fashion: no underwear.

It is not as cold as I thought it would be and it is a cool experiece: girls lift the kilt to check if you are wearing anything and there is a lot of banter. As a chatting up tool is extremely effective, more so when you are a foreigner!

It was the first time for me, but I am positive it will not be the last ;-)

Kilt hire

Despite being from Catalonia (and not from Caledonia), I have decided to hire a kilt (Black Watch tartan, I hope there are not many Sout Africans, Australians, Irakis, etc in the party...) for my employer's Christmas party dinner & dance. I am looking forward to meet my colleagues tomorrow -they don't know anything about it!

A full report of the "kilt wearing" experience on Sunday....

No time

As well as working full-time, I started a part-time MBA last October. That explains why there are no new messages since then.... if that wasn't enough, overtime at work has become routine...what a nightmare.

- Scotland in Barcelona

Scotland features prominently in Barcelona's festival "La Mercè".

There will be a Scotland Square in Barcelona's harbour front and over 400 pipers from Scotland, led by the Lothian&Borders Police Pipe Band, will march down the Rambla. This will be a unique opportunity, I wish I could be there in my home city to witness it!!

More info:
- http://www.visitscotland.com/ca/lamerce (in Catalan)

- http://www.bcn.es/merce (select English, Catalan or Spanish)

- Nae bad

A local pub, anywhere in Scotland:

- ...aye...
- ....Och aye.

"Aye". Scots use aye instead of yes in more familiar situations. It has become standard and its use is accepted nowadays.

Scots will rarely express delight or give praise as easy and often as Americans or English. Thus, the expression "nae bad" ("not bad") is used constantly to express that something is OK, good or good enough not to complain about it. (More about complaining later...)

Another pub:
- How's it goin'?
- Nae bad... and yerself?
- Nae bad, nae bad...
- aye?
- Och aye aye...

The expressions "aye" or "nae bad", despite its shortness, can hide multiple -sometimes contradictory- meanings, many more than are apparent to the outsider.

Finally is very important to "get on". For example, your friend asks about your new job:
- How are ye gettin' on?
- Nae bad, nae bad...
- Enjoying it so far?
- Och aye.

It is very important "to get on", which means to gel with the rest of the population, to mix in without trouble. Thus, complaining in public about something is often seen as "attention-seeking" behaviour and therefore such people are labeled as egocentric and self-important. This leads to the wonderful expression of "making a stooshie", sometimes referred to someone who makes an issue of something to the annoyment of members of the public.

Restraint in giving praise to someone is better summarised with the phrase "Ah kent his faither", which means "I knew his father". This is the ultimate put-down, meaning that no-matter how well a person has done in life that he/she will always be his/her dad's son/daughter. This expression is widely used for Scots who have gained recognition and wealth outside Scotland as a way to keep them with their feet on the ground.