A plea for sanity for Catalonia and Europe

I was born in an occupied country run by a repressive regime.

I was about to start second grade the year that my country regained its independence. The year that my nation attained their long-lost right to Freedom.

This was not just the passionate but ambiguous slogan of “freedom” that is used these days around the first world to advance political agendas and extraneous elections.

This was real Freedom — the Freedom to say and think what you felt in your heart, the Freedom to speak your own language in your own country in any situation, the Freedom to sing any song, write any article, enact any play you desired, the Freedom to call your country yours. The Freedom to celebrate Christmas, if that was what you wanted.

The Freedom to commemorate the hundreds of thousands that never lived to see that day, because of decades long oppression and persecution.

Hundreds of thousands in a country of a few million is a lot, enough to touch each family profoundly.

I was young, but not too young to forget the sensation that took over the months leading to the climax of the events in the beginning of the 90s.

Now it is a victorious chapter in my country’s’ history.

But that summer, no one knew how it was going to end.

That summer I lived in fear of starting school.

I was afraid I would go to school and come home to find my mother gone, taken. I used to imagine how I would fight soldiers and dodge bombs, whatever it took just to find her. I did not care about anything else, I just wanted to be safe with her.

These are not scenarios second graders should need to play out in their heads.

Fortunately, I never had to live that nightmare.

Without a single shot, one autumn morning, everything was over. The feeling of happiness and joy slowly slithered into the homes of people who had lost hope a long time ago. But the most monumental celebration in the hearts of the nation was the feeling of peace.

Peace. A feeling severely under appreciated by the privileged citizens of first world countries. The generations now dominating the census here are lucky enough to never have known any different.

A stable and peaceful Europe is a privilege

My country is, for some time now, part of the institution that lately has come under a lot of pressure. The European Union.

There are many aspects to this union of states, but it seems to me its habitants are quickly losing grasp of one of its most important reasons for foundation — peace.

I guess all it takes is a few generations to start looking for the same hole to fall into.

I have been living in a few of the countries of this union over the past 10 years.

They all have their ups and downs, pluses and minuses, but they all have something in common — they are communities of peace and equality and freedom of speech.

So far.

I moved to Spain, Catalonia about a year ago.

I came to a country of sunshine, good food, happy and free people. I had never enjoyed living in any other place in the world as much as I enjoyed it here. Every morning I would wake up to the hazy hills in the distance and a warm, be it slightly humid, Mediterranean breeze.

This is luxury of living — being able to wake up to a beautiful world without fear or preoccupations.

It is maybe hard to understand for people who never had any other way of waking up, but trust me, you want to take my word for it and skip the experience.

Breaking the peace

This morning, for the first time in my life since being a child, I woke up with my hands shaking and heart pounding. A wrenching feeling in my gut, I got up way before the alarm was set to go off. Even though I had probably gotten less than 6 hours of sleep, there was no way to peacefully dose off for another half an hour session.

In the end of 1940s the Soviets deported tens of thousands of people from the Baltic states to the vast and endless Siberia.

There was no notice given. No time to say goodbyes. No time to pack. People had to leave their homes with the clothes they had on and little more. Within 5 minutes of getting the knock on their door they better had been ready.

The youngest “enemy of state” that had to be eliminated in this way — 3 days old.

I have known these stories since I was a child, still living under the same regime that carried out these atrocities. Quietly and in secret they were passed on from my grandmothers’ generation. These are stories of my family and the families of everyone I know back home.

I have felt pain and sadness and frustration that such a thing could ever take place.

I was hoping that living in a world of today, in the year 2017, we have come too far for me, a modern peaceful European, to ever learn what that kind of terror really feels like to the souls subjected to it.

But last night, first time ever, I felt the feeling these people must have had to endure in the months leading up to the cataclysm of their lives.

A place of freedom?

I live in Barcelona. Catalonia. Spain.

I live in a place where:

• I cannot freely and safely speak my mind and defend my beliefs anymore
• I feel abandoned by all legitimate governmental entities that are supposed to protect the fundamental democratic principles of this country called Spain
• I feel scared of the guerrilla gang that calls itself the government of the Catalonian autonomous region and that intends to break this nation into pieces
• I feel intimidated by the local police, the Mossos, who are not siding with the law any-more, but take orders from criminals
• I feel scared of the masses that are on the streets, being manipulated by Mr. Puigdemont and his associates
• I feel disheartened by the uninformed international media that seems incapable of really grasping the magnitude nor the essence of the situation and seems to be eating up any propaganda the coupists feed them

I feel disbelief that I am living this, in 2017, in Europe, in Spain, in Catalonia.

I see international news and I see news from my native country. And most of it is missing one major component — the background story. People around Europe are taking sides without any proper reasoning, just based on what the other guy said.

Let me give you a background story:

The region of Catalonia has a long and complex history.

To this day, in their hearts, the 11th of September 1714 marks the most important date in the history for all Catalans. This is this date that is referred to by some of them to justify their claims of independence.

What exactly was going on 300 years ago?

That date marks the final defeat of Barcelona in the War of Spanish Succession. A war fought between the Bourbon king Philip V (grandson of Louis XIV of France) and the Hapsburg Archduke Charles from Austria in between 1701–1714. A war that more accurately would be described as a world war, because it consumed most of Europe.

The last Hapsburg monarch on the Spanish throne Charles II had named Philip V to be his successor on his death bed following advice from his ministers.

The Austrian Hapsburg Archduke Charles, who would have been next in line for the Spanish throne, disagreed fervently. So did England, Holland and Prussia, fearing that the French would gain too much power in Europe if they also controlled territories of Spain. A great alliance was formed and, as was habitual, a war lasting over a decade was launched. (The details of the actual turn of events are far more intricate and a fascinating read.)

The Crown of Aragon, composing of Catalan, Aragon and Valencian kingdoms, was also backing the Austrian Archduke, even though the support for the Archduke was by no means unanimous nor majority, with parts of the region leaning at times towards Philip V.

In 1711, Austria’s Emperor Joseph I died and Archduke Charles returned to Austria as his successor. He was now the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and that profoundly changed the power dynamics in Europe.

The alliance did not want to support the emperor in gaining even more power by ruling over Spain, which meant that Louise XIV, who was having difficulties managing the war with his overextended troops, was able to sign a peace agreement with favourable terms.

The Treaty of Utrecht (1713) cost Spain many overseas regions, the most painful loss being Gibraltar which was given to Great Britain, but it also gave it unity within its territory.

This led to the reorganisation of Spain, based on the same principles that governed France and made it into a centrally run modern state. For Catalans this meant that their language subsided from government and most of the legal framework but was still maintained in the fields of private law and trade. All governmental positions were divided between loyalists of king Philip V.

At the same time, the new Bourbon king ended Castile’s monopoly with trading with Spain’s American colonies, and opened up the routes for Catalans, sparking an era of economic growth and prosperity in the region. Nevertheless, resentment in parts of the society lingered.

Since then Catalonia has experienced different levels of autonomy. By the time when Europe started to lean into World War II, Catalonia was a strong autonomous region of the Second Spanish Republic, with official use of its own language.

Due to turmoil in the Second Spanish Republic, caused by scandals involving ministers and a miner’s strike against the newly elected right wing government, which had turned extremely violent, the name of Francisco Franco became infamous for the first time. He suppressed the murderous rebellion backed by the leftist parties, but the body count was huge.

The Spanish nation was divided and in the 1936 elections there was basically only two sides to choose from — the communist left or the nationalist right.

The communist won. 263 seats against 156 for the right.

Murder and chaos ensued.

In the end, when the dust settled, there was one man standing — Francisco Franco.

The years after the end of the Second World War were difficult for the totalitarian regime (as for the rest of Europe) and Catalonia suffered together with all the other regions. In the 60s and 70s Spain began to experience the second fastest economic expansion in the world, only surpassed by that of Japan. The phenomenon, aptly named as the Spanish Miracle, was fuelled by reforms from a new generation of politicians, largely from Opus Dei, backed by Franco.

Catalonia prospered, even surpassing the rest of Spain.

But the people of Catalonia still were yearning for their lost autonomy and language.

After Franco’s death in 1975 they finally got their spark of hope that led to the establishment of the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

The act received overwhelming support from Catalans and other regions alike. It brought back the autonomy, the official language of Catalan, the culture and all the democratic rights that all the Spanish, including Catalans, enjoy to this day.

It was peace, finally.

How do you go from peace to thousands of people fervently manifesting on the streets?

There are thousands of Catalans on the streets today. They are not the majority of Catalans, but they are a considerable part of them.

Why would this be?

• They live in a country that is free.
• They live in an autonomous region with extensive self-government powers
• They have a high standard of living.
• Their communication with the government is in Catalan.
• Their hospitals are in Catalan.
• Their media is in Catalan.
• Their schools are in Catalan.
• They can say, write, enact and yell whatever they please.
• They can celebrate Christmas, Ramadan, Hannukah or whatever else they desire.

In fact, there is little difference independence would bring to the daily lives of Catalan people.

So how did so many get onto the streets?

To say they are fighting to restore the situation 300 years ago would be gravely inaccurate. It is doubtful they want to be subject to the undemocratic institutions and social hierarchy of a society that existed centuries ago.

To say that they are oppressed and persecuted by the Spanish central government would be flat out lying.

To say that they just want to live in a country that is called Catalonia, with all other things more or less equal is probably the most accurate description. But semantics is not really a reasonable nor adequate motive for fracturing the society and breaking apart families.

To understand why Catalans are protesting today means taking a look into decades long political manipulation, robbery and indoctrination that has been imposed on them since the 90s.

Catalan politicians have held a disproportionation amount of power in the Spanish parliament for years. They have used their small, but crucial vote count in the absence of absolute majorities to gain more and more autonomy.

What was the reason for this pursuit of ever bigger independence from the central government?

As sadly so often is true anywhere in the world, the answer is money. A lot of money.

And no, I am not talking about the millions the Catalans claim to be paying to sustain the rest of Spain and that they should miraculously get back the instance they declare independence.

Just think of the economic turmoil independence would create in Catalonia — companies, big and small, are already fleeing the region, think of the coming exodus after the act.

Think of losing its main export market, because 40% of Catalan production is sold to other parts of Spain.

Think of mass emigration of a huge portion of the workforce.

So no, there is no economic bonanza waiting in the end of the independence referendum rainbow for Catalans.

But this is of no concern to the politicians.

It is money for the politicians’ own pockets that has been running the cause of increased autonomy in Catalonia.

Jordi Pujol, the ruling president of Catalonia for 23 years, who finally finished his uninterrupted run as the head of this region in 2003, is the embodiment of this corruption, manipulation and criminality.

He is currently under investigation for stealing billions (yes, that’s billions with a “b”, in plural) of Euros of tax payers’ money via bribes and fake contracts.

How one person can manage that?

By concentrating as much power in the local government as possible and using this power to gain access to tax payers money, to hide evidence and to stall the legal investigation.

It also has allowed him to conceal behind the “investigations are politically motivated” fence for years.

There has not yet been a court case, but the evidence is overwhelming and if you ask any Catalan, independentist or not, they will tell you that Pujol stole the money. They have no doubt.

But they do not see how that could have anything to do with their fight for “democracy” and independence.

But it has everything to do with it.

The greed of the political elite here has led to the manipulation and indoctrination of Catalan people. All in the name of being able to control the masses to better advance their personal agenda.

Indoctrination

There is a reason why the independence movement has reached the critical mass now and not a decade ago.

Schools.

All the schools in Catalonia are in Catalan. 100%. There is nothing taught in Spanish. Except for the occasional private school here and there. It has been so for a few decades now.

This might seem irrelevant, until you remember that, this is Spain and there are hundreds of thousands of people living in Catalonia who are from other parts of Spain and their first language is Spanish.

While it is natural that an autonomous region with its own language will uphold its linguistic legacy, it is also natural, that children should be able to receive part of their education in the official language of their home land. This would allow them to speak fluent Catalan and integrate them into the local culture, while at the same time still connect them to the rest of Spain.

You might even look through the fingers to the exclusion of Spanish language from schools, but what has no justification is the indoctrination of kids in schools to nationalist and independentist ideas. They are subjected to half-truths and in worst cases full lies, already starting from the pre-school years.

This has created a generation that feels animosity for the Spanish central government based on misguidance and instilment.

Kids have been coming home to Spanish speaking parents for years, telling them that they now must start speaking Catalan at home, because the teacher told them so.

I personally took my pre-schooler to class just this morning. We were fashionably late and the teacher had already started the class. I could hear her telling them how national police had beaten innocent people because they wanted to sign a paper. How the king is evil and president Puigdemont is trying to save us all from a repressive Spain. These kids are 4 years old.

It seems to have been a coordinated lecture from the part of the Catalonian educational system because parents all over Catalonia have reported this very same thing to the Spanish police and media.

The same message has been transmitted on the Catalan children via local TV channels.

These are children who don’t know how to tie their shoelaces. They do not need to know about politics. Unless they live in a propagandist totalitarian regime. Do they?

This kind of indoctrination has been systematically going on for years and now the generation is ready and old enough to be on the streets.

And so, there they are, fighting for a cause that does not exist. They have been systematically programmed for this by the corrupt local government that is now leading them to the edge of reason.

The educational systems’ coordinated efforts are also being backed by the Catalan media which has grown increasingly propagandist through the years.

It all started with mild hints in comedy shows and telenovelas, and it has now reached an incredible level of mono-thematic publicity. They are so consumed by their cause that I challenge you to find one mention of the word “España” in any of their output. It does not exist. They use the term “the State” instead to use every opportunity they get to enforce their message of defiance.

These are methods endemic to totalitarian regimes. This does not happen in a free democratic country. I never thought I would have to see this happen in Europe once more.

It scares me and it should scare the whole region, the whole country, and the whole Europe.

It all started as an innuendo to control the Catalan people into supporting the increasing autonomy and thus giving more power and more funds for the corrupt local politicians.

But with tensions all over the world increasing over the last decade, it has grown into a cause supported by foreign governments, with interest to destabilise and weaken Europe.

Is it really that bad?

Every single Catalan family I know is fractured. Everyone has a sister or a cousin on the other side of the red line. Even husbands and wives wont agree.

A nation broken.

I can understand how both sides have reached this point.

But there is one side that is utterly lost here and that has arrived on the streets due to manipulation. It is no fault of their own, but they are lost.

The independentist Catalans do not know what independence, especially in this manner, really means. They have been promised cotton candy clouds and Cacaolat rivers. The reality would be a sheer disappointment.

Pique, one of the most appreciated football players for FC Barcelona, is quite an example of the inner dilemma the independentist Catalans face. He thinks that he can have independence and still play in the Spanish league. He has been told Catalonia needs independence and that it is Catalans birth right, but at the same time he feels inclined to fight in the name of Spain.

If that’s not confusion, then I don’t know what is.

Is there a solution?

Everything I have seen happen in Catalonia and everything I have lived before this day tells me — the solution that would work out in everyone’s best interest, is not going to be simple nor pretty.

It is too late for an elegant solution. Especially for a Spanish government that quite clearly does not know how to play chess.

But there has to be a solution nevertheless.

The Spanish government needs to assume some difficult decisions. All leading politicians are going to have to leave their personal aspirations aside and think about Spain first.

They need to protect the silent majority and they need to stop the outlaw leaders of Catalonia and they have to secure safety for everyone.

There needs to be major reorganization of the way things work in Spain and in Catalonia. A mere de-escalation of the problem is not enough. If the indoctrination continues, it will be impossible for people, grown up in a system that tells them to hate Spain, to feel anything but for their country.

And then there have to be real elections, with actual campaigns and truthful arguments and legitimate results.

To paint a picture that, even if a bit simplisticly, still very effectively captures the notion — remember the movie Avatar? Well, you sometimes have to fight to protect what is right, even if fighting is not really the way you live.

History clearly demonstrates that weakness in the face of guerrilla politicians and coupist will lead to dismay and demise of even the greatest nations.

What I wish for all Catalans, on both sides of the red line, is that they would take a look at this amazing land of theirs and realize:

How privileged they are to live in a free democratic developed country and how lucky they are to have their family and loved ones.

This fight is not theirs, it is the fight of corrupt politicians and extremist ideas.

This fight is not for democracy. This fight is not for free speech. Nor for the right to self-determination. Nor for being able to exercise your beliefs and traditions.

Claiming the opposite is showing ultimate disrespect towards people who have lived through oppression and persecution and who are subject to them right now in many parts of the world.

But not in Europe, not in Spain, not in Catalonia.

And once they realize all of this, they should ask themselves: what are we fighting for?

End of sanity in Europe will be the end of our privileged peaceful lives.