On the 5th of May the Scottish election took place. A while back now. That the SNP won with an overwhelming turn in vote was surprising. After full scrutiny, it took 69 seats out of 129, a significant majority- with seats they stole from the Libdems and Labour. Alex Salmond, leader of the SNP, is openly pro-worker but also pro-independance, and the you can see the connotations in the speech he gave when he was declared winner: "I'll govern for all the ambitions of Scotland and for all the people who can imagine we can live in a better land. This party- the Scottish party - the national party- carries your hope and we shall carry it carefully and make the nation proud".
Now there are only a couple of reasons to explain why the SNP achieved such a turnaround, despite its support for independance. Either it was simply a product of an anti-coalition vote, or the number of Scottish in favour of independance is increasing. Your choice but it is mine to hope for the latter. We cannot say that those who voted for the SNP weren't at least expecting a referendum for secession.
Scotland is of course like so many other hidden nations of Europe. Both Catalonia and Scotland were empires in their own right, they ended up losing their territories due to monarchies intermarrying. Of course, your average person at the time was no more than a slave, with no freedoms nor any rights. The culture of many territories got at least difused, if not surpressed and/or lost altogether.
What is important though, is that when Scotland actually calls the refendum, which is scheduled for the second half of the five-year term, it will be very hard for nations like Spain to not allow the Basque Country and Catalonia to hold one, or France one for Northern Catalonia and Brittany. There is also the Val d'Aosta, Sicily, Corsega, Napoli, Flanders. the Suomi people, Chechnya... There are so many nations across Europe looking for greater autonomy or independance; what will happen to Northern Ireland? Scotland is just the blow of air that can help reignite seemingly dying embers.
Those opposed to independance give economic and social reasons. I'll address the economic reasons first. It is simply not true that independance will cut-off markets. Capitalism will continue to make its ties regardless of borders or lack therof. I rather think the new international projection will boost the tourism and industry of many of these nations. I'll step in to say that I am looking to argue against the reasons against independance set down by imperialism, and not really from a socialist perspective this time around. Many of these nations mentioned above are currently deemed dependant on central governments because the taxes of these nations go into the treasure chests of these central governments. The Basque country is an exception which many nations are jealous of, as it manages its own taxes.
In terms of social factors, I doubt many of the states would spiral into war. Even though I think Spain could- clause 8 of the constitution says that if the unity of the country is under threat, the military is legally obliged to step in (They have certainly done so every other time Catalonia has seeked greater self-determination). I don't think people would necesarily leave the country even if it does become a new one. Physically your situation hasn't changed, you haven't been thrown in a tumble dryer! People will still live in Catalonia or Scotland and the biggest mistake on the behalf of any new government would be to create differences between the 'natives' and the 'foreigners'.
The way people is going to potray Scotland in the near future is important. Like they already say of Catalonia, they will say Scotland is already breaking up the state. To see how far the nonsense goes in Spain, watch this investigative report. What is a nation though, if there is no shared sentiment of cultural unity?
Showing posts with label Catalonia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catalonia. Show all posts
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Spain: No time for siesta, we need true democracy first!
Just before Summer, Spain has taken onto the streets under the banner of revolution. Spain is the first European country to take onto the new craze- we need a better revolution and we in the West are entitled to an Arab Spring too! This 2nd Spanish revolution though will not achieve its goals unless it has a clear idea of changing the system though and for the moment, it is only being legal.
Spain was under Arab hands for 800 years in some areas. Although they are, for now, still very racist, I will argue that this is due to the sense of nationalism that has been instilled into Spaniards since the end of the 15th century. Most notably though, this sense of nationalism is a fruit of Franco's many trees which still exist in Spanish society- trees planted to shade and suffocate the saps of Communism and Anarchism, that were not only present but blooming before 1939- the end of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's consolidation into power.
I have talked about Franco's legacy before so if you're interested read here, where I talk about the reasons Franco won, or here where I talk about Spain still being under his influence. Briefly I'll say that, Franco appeared as the second 'great' Spanish dictator in the 20th century and he continued Primo de Rivera's objective of keeping Spain culturally united but speechless. As I've said many a time, Spain is not a country, it is an amalgamation of nationalities, many of which strive for freedom still. During the second republic these nationalities were being given increasing autonomy as the economy was swaying dangerously to the left. The old sources of power: Clergy, nobility and the military; were being slowly pushed out of politics. The nobility was taken down and many churches were burnt as the penitent turned against their priests, the military was also becoming minor but due to the complicated landscape of Spanish unity, they were deemed necessary to quell rebellion. This gave the military an open door to control Spanish politics and only 5 years after the foundation of the Republic, it staged a coup d'etat which would end up abolishing the freedoms of the Spanish people and reintroducing nobility, imposing religion and controlling all autonomy. Franco made it his task to unify Spain under [g]od and design a feeling of unity to keep the industrially more developped, historically independant and socially working class areas of the Basque country and Catalonia in Spanish hands. These two culturally different regions are two of the many, but they have suffered a longer history of suppression; they clung on to marxist and anarchist ideologies as a point of freedom and they fought for it long and hard during the Spanish Civil War.
When Franco took over he imposed a culturally Spanish state in order to force the Basques and Catalans to assimilate. History was rewritten but it hung on to the age of a strong Spanish monarchy in the 16th and 17th centuries, where Spain was devoutly catholic but also a vast empire since the 15th. The focus on these latter two undoubtedly forced an idea of superiority in terms of both religion, thus the anti-islamism and culture, thus the anti-arabism. Of course the 16th and 17th centuries were when the Basques and Catalans were surpressed harshest, for this reason the inculcation Franco taught left a bitter after-taste in the mouths of these two cultures. Underground organisations in the two regions, including terrorist ones, kept the cultures alive and the spirits high, even if the languages were prohibited. The majority of the workers though, not forming part of secret literary circles nor holding any strong positions in the hitherto existing regional governments, were in large part left out and the failure of the USSR and the control over unions in already battered workplaces made them lose their ideology, in public.
Of course, when under oppression one will not happily accept the conditions enforced, he'll only comply. What is known as the first Spanish revolution took place with the coup d'etat. As the existing state collapsed and hid in official buildings, the ideology the Spanish had learnt during their short time of freedom of speech was put into practice. Anarchists, socialists and communists took hold of the factories and social life actually changed. Though it was a civil war, workers continued production and many fought for a better world. Education and civil life continued arguably better than it had done at any previous point in time. 8 million Spanish lived this alternative lifestyle, about half the population at the time. So when Spain became an authoritarian dictatorship, these people must've imprinted this burning desire for a better world to their children.
In the streets now we have the children of the children, but one protesters was reported as saying that she'd been waiting for the revolution for 50 years. The reality though is that the revolution in large part is being used by alternative sections of the Labour party, even if it was started off by anarchists especially. Many of those there are demanding better access to university, higher wages, more jobs, better wages but also a change in the electoral system. This is not a change in the democratic system and this is important, because it is this neo-liberal system which is the root of the problem. Much like in North Africa (and may I say, from day one the protesters themselves have linked this as a continuation of the Arab Spring, sympathising with the efforts of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya), this revolution is being run through the social networks- Facebook but also mobile phones. This is where they are easy to control, the political parties can see what the plans are and thus turn up to them and use them. Spain is voting in the Spanish elections in only a couple of days time, so these protesters have come as a shock to the system. The timing is also perfect because the government will have to see them gone in order to have the non-political period of reflexion just before the elections- during this period no political party is allowed to campaign. The Catalan government has already said that it will not forcefully move Catalan protesters, this way contradicting the decision of the supreme court. And if the regional governments push the protesters out, a chance for a real revolution is more possible. The protesters will be able to see that the system goes against there desires.
It is important to note that these protests have followed the Egyptian model of camping in the main square, they are more widespread then the Egyptian ones started out though. Every capital province has had protesters in some numbers, so that is 49 cities plus others. In different regions they have had different directions. In Catalonia they seem to be more anarchist and anti-system- with wide support from university lecturers. They are calling for an all-out boycott of the Spanish elections. They are also Catalan in spirit, with banners for independance as well. In Madrid they seem to be more mainstream and with more main party involvement, from what I can tell so far.
These protests though will not succeed unless they have an ideology behind them that tells the protesters that it is the system that is wrong. As I've said, anarchists are heavily involved in regions where they historically have been, communists on the other hand are staying away from it. I'm planning on writing a letter to the Trotskyist Communist Party of the Catalan People telling them that I think their position is wrong. They say they are not taking part because the ideas of the protesters seem to be focussed in fixing the system. I think that this is the best chance in 80 years to gain support. It is the task of communists to guide the protesters. At the very least what they will get is a bigger base with which to act next time. The anarcho-syndicalists are calling for a boycott in the elections and they are showing a larger than known presence in the demos, why then shouldn't the trots do the same?
The only way these revolutions can spread is by defying presidential and judicial orders, boycotting too but direction is needed to both teach the protesters about communism but also to show them that past revolutions have been succesful. I think these protests can grow, 45% of Spanish youths are unemplyed and the average of the population is almost 1 in 4. My mum is part of that group and so are friends of mine, they are fed up but they are not active. An organisation can provide information and tactics to get these people active.
The words of a Catalan poet from Valencia pop to mind: No et limitis a contemplar aquestes hores que ara venen, baixa al carrer i participa. No podran res davant d'un poble unit, alegre i combatiu.
Don't just sit there and watch those hours here to come, take the streets and participate. They won't be able to do anything against a united, happy and combative people. Vicent Andres Estelles.
Spain was under Arab hands for 800 years in some areas. Although they are, for now, still very racist, I will argue that this is due to the sense of nationalism that has been instilled into Spaniards since the end of the 15th century. Most notably though, this sense of nationalism is a fruit of Franco's many trees which still exist in Spanish society- trees planted to shade and suffocate the saps of Communism and Anarchism, that were not only present but blooming before 1939- the end of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's consolidation into power.
I have talked about Franco's legacy before so if you're interested read here, where I talk about the reasons Franco won, or here where I talk about Spain still being under his influence. Briefly I'll say that, Franco appeared as the second 'great' Spanish dictator in the 20th century and he continued Primo de Rivera's objective of keeping Spain culturally united but speechless. As I've said many a time, Spain is not a country, it is an amalgamation of nationalities, many of which strive for freedom still. During the second republic these nationalities were being given increasing autonomy as the economy was swaying dangerously to the left. The old sources of power: Clergy, nobility and the military; were being slowly pushed out of politics. The nobility was taken down and many churches were burnt as the penitent turned against their priests, the military was also becoming minor but due to the complicated landscape of Spanish unity, they were deemed necessary to quell rebellion. This gave the military an open door to control Spanish politics and only 5 years after the foundation of the Republic, it staged a coup d'etat which would end up abolishing the freedoms of the Spanish people and reintroducing nobility, imposing religion and controlling all autonomy. Franco made it his task to unify Spain under [g]od and design a feeling of unity to keep the industrially more developped, historically independant and socially working class areas of the Basque country and Catalonia in Spanish hands. These two culturally different regions are two of the many, but they have suffered a longer history of suppression; they clung on to marxist and anarchist ideologies as a point of freedom and they fought for it long and hard during the Spanish Civil War.
When Franco took over he imposed a culturally Spanish state in order to force the Basques and Catalans to assimilate. History was rewritten but it hung on to the age of a strong Spanish monarchy in the 16th and 17th centuries, where Spain was devoutly catholic but also a vast empire since the 15th. The focus on these latter two undoubtedly forced an idea of superiority in terms of both religion, thus the anti-islamism and culture, thus the anti-arabism. Of course the 16th and 17th centuries were when the Basques and Catalans were surpressed harshest, for this reason the inculcation Franco taught left a bitter after-taste in the mouths of these two cultures. Underground organisations in the two regions, including terrorist ones, kept the cultures alive and the spirits high, even if the languages were prohibited. The majority of the workers though, not forming part of secret literary circles nor holding any strong positions in the hitherto existing regional governments, were in large part left out and the failure of the USSR and the control over unions in already battered workplaces made them lose their ideology, in public.
Of course, when under oppression one will not happily accept the conditions enforced, he'll only comply. What is known as the first Spanish revolution took place with the coup d'etat. As the existing state collapsed and hid in official buildings, the ideology the Spanish had learnt during their short time of freedom of speech was put into practice. Anarchists, socialists and communists took hold of the factories and social life actually changed. Though it was a civil war, workers continued production and many fought for a better world. Education and civil life continued arguably better than it had done at any previous point in time. 8 million Spanish lived this alternative lifestyle, about half the population at the time. So when Spain became an authoritarian dictatorship, these people must've imprinted this burning desire for a better world to their children.
In the streets now we have the children of the children, but one protesters was reported as saying that she'd been waiting for the revolution for 50 years. The reality though is that the revolution in large part is being used by alternative sections of the Labour party, even if it was started off by anarchists especially. Many of those there are demanding better access to university, higher wages, more jobs, better wages but also a change in the electoral system. This is not a change in the democratic system and this is important, because it is this neo-liberal system which is the root of the problem. Much like in North Africa (and may I say, from day one the protesters themselves have linked this as a continuation of the Arab Spring, sympathising with the efforts of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya), this revolution is being run through the social networks- Facebook but also mobile phones. This is where they are easy to control, the political parties can see what the plans are and thus turn up to them and use them. Spain is voting in the Spanish elections in only a couple of days time, so these protesters have come as a shock to the system. The timing is also perfect because the government will have to see them gone in order to have the non-political period of reflexion just before the elections- during this period no political party is allowed to campaign. The Catalan government has already said that it will not forcefully move Catalan protesters, this way contradicting the decision of the supreme court. And if the regional governments push the protesters out, a chance for a real revolution is more possible. The protesters will be able to see that the system goes against there desires.
It is important to note that these protests have followed the Egyptian model of camping in the main square, they are more widespread then the Egyptian ones started out though. Every capital province has had protesters in some numbers, so that is 49 cities plus others. In different regions they have had different directions. In Catalonia they seem to be more anarchist and anti-system- with wide support from university lecturers. They are calling for an all-out boycott of the Spanish elections. They are also Catalan in spirit, with banners for independance as well. In Madrid they seem to be more mainstream and with more main party involvement, from what I can tell so far.
These protests though will not succeed unless they have an ideology behind them that tells the protesters that it is the system that is wrong. As I've said, anarchists are heavily involved in regions where they historically have been, communists on the other hand are staying away from it. I'm planning on writing a letter to the Trotskyist Communist Party of the Catalan People telling them that I think their position is wrong. They say they are not taking part because the ideas of the protesters seem to be focussed in fixing the system. I think that this is the best chance in 80 years to gain support. It is the task of communists to guide the protesters. At the very least what they will get is a bigger base with which to act next time. The anarcho-syndicalists are calling for a boycott in the elections and they are showing a larger than known presence in the demos, why then shouldn't the trots do the same?
The only way these revolutions can spread is by defying presidential and judicial orders, boycotting too but direction is needed to both teach the protesters about communism but also to show them that past revolutions have been succesful. I think these protests can grow, 45% of Spanish youths are unemplyed and the average of the population is almost 1 in 4. My mum is part of that group and so are friends of mine, they are fed up but they are not active. An organisation can provide information and tactics to get these people active.
The words of a Catalan poet from Valencia pop to mind: No et limitis a contemplar aquestes hores que ara venen, baixa al carrer i participa. No podran res davant d'un poble unit, alegre i combatiu.
Don't just sit there and watch those hours here to come, take the streets and participate. They won't be able to do anything against a united, happy and combative people. Vicent Andres Estelles.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Anzac: Why do we celebrate death?
Tomorrow we will be again seeing flags raised across New Zealand, bands piping at 7 am and crowds gathering around every cenotaph in the country. This is a commemoration of war, but is war worth remembering? Well of course we are not remembering war, but who we have lost in it. We remember the stupidity of war, we remember that killing people we don't know is irrational when they have done nothing to us. Because they haven't personally, nor has their country. We remember all those who died for somebody else's war, the war of an empire our great-grandfathers may have never seen first hand.
This wasn't the war of our fathers nor our grandfathers, they are now our great-grandfathers, people so distant we can hardly imagine them. They didn't listen to the radio and half of New Zealand was still rural. All their information, all their sense of nationalism was very different to ours. They read newspapers that reported the information a week late and who were they but an amalgamation of Brits and Irish fighting for their livelihoods in a quite unknown climate? They still saw Maori as savages and some even hoped they would go extinct, like a beast...
So why do we remember those we do not know?
I guess I cannot really speak. I come from a nation, Catalonia, that celebrates the defeat to Spain and its empire on September 11th 1714. When the Spanish finished sieging my hometown Lleida in 1708, less than 2000 people were reported still alive. Hitherto Lleida had been an important agricultural centre, the most important city of a trade-route between Catalonia and Aragon and from there Spain, and was the seat of one of Europe's oldest universities, our contributions to the field of medecine are innumerable, in part because Jews and Muslims participated in scholarly life. Spain though destroyed the city and killed the wounded in the hospital of St Mary. All universities in Catalonia were torn down, in Lleida the Queen's castle, where she lived for 200 years was destroyed as well as all the other noble buildings. We went from 300 noble palaces to none, overnight. Saying that the city was destroyed is an understatement, it did not recover until the early 20th century. Spain prohibited the use of the Catalan language too and imposed military rule, further breaking up the territory, half of which had recently been given to France.
Yet we celebrate the loss. We are insistent and we survive, the language is blooming, 10th most important on the internet according to Google, culture re-rooting and we are looking at starting our own path once more. The two previous times we did led to the loss in 1714 and the loss in the civil war in 1939. Looking at 1714 shows the unity of the Catalan people and our tenacity, we never gave up. It is a source of pride.
New Zealand and Anzac could be something similar, in a sense it did unite the country in grief. 95 years since the first service and we still cry. New Zealand though wasn't fighting for itself, it was fighting for an empire that took lots from its colonies but seldom gave back. Moreover, Gallipoli is an example of racism:
My great-grandfather almost fought there. His regiment had been selected to train for it, in Tanganyika and in Gaza. Both of these were a failure, the army was left to jump off boats and sink- the navy did not want to get any closer. It was a failure in logistics repeated in Gallipoli and a success for the Turkish who in some areas were well outnumbered. My great-grandfather though was not allowed to fight because he was in the East Indian regiment. Churchill decided Gallipoli would be for the French and the British to recapture, Europe would be in safe hands once again as the oldest nations tied the continent back together. Because the Indians were not European, they were not allowed to attack, even though they had been preparing for it for the last year.
Anzac is a day of unity, almost every Kiwi has someone who fought in the Great War. New Zealand is a small country yet it committed itself more than anyone else. Gallipoli entitles the kiwi to a sense of pride much like Catalonia's, even though we may be small, we matter. We tread twice as hard to make ourselves heard. This sense of pride can be seen in every town and atop mountains and tomorrow New Zealanders will remember the dead there, but are we celebrating New Zealand or celebrating a bygone empire.
Why don't we celebrate the day New Zealand was discovered? Because it could be offensive to Maori. Why don't we celebrate the day Maori and Pakeha put down their arms after the Maori Wars? Because we slaughtered so many in order to take away their land.
New Zealand's problem is that it has to celebrate a day it truly united and it hasn't got one. Even in WWI many Maori iwi refused to participate. Maori did not see why they should be fighting for an empire that had abandoned them.
I bought a white poppy to show my stance on war: it kills. It doesn't mean I refuse to remember, it means I will not forget war's price. 2271 Kiwis died in Gallipoli, why are we still fighting then? Shouldn't Anzac day symbolise the day we put down arms and war remind us of what we should never do again?
This wasn't the war of our fathers nor our grandfathers, they are now our great-grandfathers, people so distant we can hardly imagine them. They didn't listen to the radio and half of New Zealand was still rural. All their information, all their sense of nationalism was very different to ours. They read newspapers that reported the information a week late and who were they but an amalgamation of Brits and Irish fighting for their livelihoods in a quite unknown climate? They still saw Maori as savages and some even hoped they would go extinct, like a beast...
So why do we remember those we do not know?
I guess I cannot really speak. I come from a nation, Catalonia, that celebrates the defeat to Spain and its empire on September 11th 1714. When the Spanish finished sieging my hometown Lleida in 1708, less than 2000 people were reported still alive. Hitherto Lleida had been an important agricultural centre, the most important city of a trade-route between Catalonia and Aragon and from there Spain, and was the seat of one of Europe's oldest universities, our contributions to the field of medecine are innumerable, in part because Jews and Muslims participated in scholarly life. Spain though destroyed the city and killed the wounded in the hospital of St Mary. All universities in Catalonia were torn down, in Lleida the Queen's castle, where she lived for 200 years was destroyed as well as all the other noble buildings. We went from 300 noble palaces to none, overnight. Saying that the city was destroyed is an understatement, it did not recover until the early 20th century. Spain prohibited the use of the Catalan language too and imposed military rule, further breaking up the territory, half of which had recently been given to France.
Yet we celebrate the loss. We are insistent and we survive, the language is blooming, 10th most important on the internet according to Google, culture re-rooting and we are looking at starting our own path once more. The two previous times we did led to the loss in 1714 and the loss in the civil war in 1939. Looking at 1714 shows the unity of the Catalan people and our tenacity, we never gave up. It is a source of pride.
New Zealand and Anzac could be something similar, in a sense it did unite the country in grief. 95 years since the first service and we still cry. New Zealand though wasn't fighting for itself, it was fighting for an empire that took lots from its colonies but seldom gave back. Moreover, Gallipoli is an example of racism:
My great-grandfather almost fought there. His regiment had been selected to train for it, in Tanganyika and in Gaza. Both of these were a failure, the army was left to jump off boats and sink- the navy did not want to get any closer. It was a failure in logistics repeated in Gallipoli and a success for the Turkish who in some areas were well outnumbered. My great-grandfather though was not allowed to fight because he was in the East Indian regiment. Churchill decided Gallipoli would be for the French and the British to recapture, Europe would be in safe hands once again as the oldest nations tied the continent back together. Because the Indians were not European, they were not allowed to attack, even though they had been preparing for it for the last year.
Anzac is a day of unity, almost every Kiwi has someone who fought in the Great War. New Zealand is a small country yet it committed itself more than anyone else. Gallipoli entitles the kiwi to a sense of pride much like Catalonia's, even though we may be small, we matter. We tread twice as hard to make ourselves heard. This sense of pride can be seen in every town and atop mountains and tomorrow New Zealanders will remember the dead there, but are we celebrating New Zealand or celebrating a bygone empire.
Why don't we celebrate the day New Zealand was discovered? Because it could be offensive to Maori. Why don't we celebrate the day Maori and Pakeha put down their arms after the Maori Wars? Because we slaughtered so many in order to take away their land.
New Zealand's problem is that it has to celebrate a day it truly united and it hasn't got one. Even in WWI many Maori iwi refused to participate. Maori did not see why they should be fighting for an empire that had abandoned them.
I bought a white poppy to show my stance on war: it kills. It doesn't mean I refuse to remember, it means I will not forget war's price. 2271 Kiwis died in Gallipoli, why are we still fighting then? Shouldn't Anzac day symbolise the day we put down arms and war remind us of what we should never do again?
Friday, January 28, 2011
Radio and the Catalan Protest Music.
I'll soon be going to the radio as I've started that again. If I want to be a journalist/reporter the best thing is to get myself a name. So I do the news, this year I'm hoping to write some for critic, of course I'm in the ISO mag and I may soon be involved in a politics program on the radio. Exciting!
The radio has always been a medium for change. Especially as in the 40s and 50s it was possible to broadcast under the radar, this is how the Catalan language was able to survive its prohibition for the first 20 years of Franco's regime. Speaking the language in public could land you in prison, especially in the bigger Catalan cities. However there were multiple clandestine gatherings across the nation and the continued presence of the Catalan government in exile gave strength to those fighting against fascism.
In the late fifties an article came out in a clandestine magazine published by the monks of Montserrat close to Barcelona. The article, by a singer called Serrahima said that "we need present songs [in Catalan]". From this article musicians started to get together and soon the group els setze jutges was born in Lleida. Its goal was to create Catalan music that was relevant to the times. Under the umbrella of this group dozens of musicians appeared. They would use the relative weakening of the regime to normalize Catalan. Or at least, make those too young to hear it in the street aware that it was also spoken outside of their houses or farms, that Catalan had its own existence as a language and its existence would only survive with the toppling of Franco and his cronies. The lyrics of these songs were extremely rich in metaphor. People knew what they actually meant but as they weren't explicit and sometimes non-understandable to the authorities, the singers were granted permission to tour. Sometimes their songs would be prohibited in one town, but allowed in another 30 km down the road. It all depended on the strength of the authorities around.
Father, tell me what they have done to the river,
that has ceased to sing.
It slips like a thorn, dead under an inch of white foam.
[...]
Father, the fields are no longer the fields,
Father, from the skies blood rains,
and the wind sings this crying.
[...]
Father, they're killing the earth,
Father stop crying,
they have declared war on us.
The snipets of this song by Serrat, called Pare, show how there is something wrong with this land, Catalonia & Valencia. We are not allowed to look after it any more and it is dying, the language is dying, as is the culture. With the song L'Estaca, by Lluis Llach, Franco is mentioned directly. The name Siset is a loving Catalan form of Francisco.
Siset can you not see the stake,
to which we are all tied?
If we can't undo ourselves
we'll never be able to walk.
If we all pull
it'll surely fall
and much more time it cannot hold.
Surely it'll fall, fall, fall,
it must be rotten enough by now.
This song calls for everyone to help pull down the regime, the protest song called for civil liberties and a social welfare unknown of and only imaginable across those borders it was so hard to cross. It helped re-liven Catalan nationalism and it helped to topple the regime, or at least keep peoples' hopes up until the time was adequate.
The radio has always been a medium for change. Especially as in the 40s and 50s it was possible to broadcast under the radar, this is how the Catalan language was able to survive its prohibition for the first 20 years of Franco's regime. Speaking the language in public could land you in prison, especially in the bigger Catalan cities. However there were multiple clandestine gatherings across the nation and the continued presence of the Catalan government in exile gave strength to those fighting against fascism.
In the late fifties an article came out in a clandestine magazine published by the monks of Montserrat close to Barcelona. The article, by a singer called Serrahima said that "we need present songs [in Catalan]". From this article musicians started to get together and soon the group els setze jutges was born in Lleida. Its goal was to create Catalan music that was relevant to the times. Under the umbrella of this group dozens of musicians appeared. They would use the relative weakening of the regime to normalize Catalan. Or at least, make those too young to hear it in the street aware that it was also spoken outside of their houses or farms, that Catalan had its own existence as a language and its existence would only survive with the toppling of Franco and his cronies. The lyrics of these songs were extremely rich in metaphor. People knew what they actually meant but as they weren't explicit and sometimes non-understandable to the authorities, the singers were granted permission to tour. Sometimes their songs would be prohibited in one town, but allowed in another 30 km down the road. It all depended on the strength of the authorities around.
Father, tell me what they have done to the river,
that has ceased to sing.
It slips like a thorn, dead under an inch of white foam.
[...]
Father, the fields are no longer the fields,
Father, from the skies blood rains,
and the wind sings this crying.
[...]
Father, they're killing the earth,
Father stop crying,
they have declared war on us.
The snipets of this song by Serrat, called Pare, show how there is something wrong with this land, Catalonia & Valencia. We are not allowed to look after it any more and it is dying, the language is dying, as is the culture. With the song L'Estaca, by Lluis Llach, Franco is mentioned directly. The name Siset is a loving Catalan form of Francisco.
Siset can you not see the stake,
to which we are all tied?
If we can't undo ourselves
we'll never be able to walk.
If we all pull
it'll surely fall
and much more time it cannot hold.
Surely it'll fall, fall, fall,
it must be rotten enough by now.
This song calls for everyone to help pull down the regime, the protest song called for civil liberties and a social welfare unknown of and only imaginable across those borders it was so hard to cross. It helped re-liven Catalan nationalism and it helped to topple the regime, or at least keep peoples' hopes up until the time was adequate.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
The Spanish Civil War: One enemy but no friends.
The Spanish Civil war was one of the bloodiest and most brutal conflicts of the 20th century. It is often untalked about or even unknown, but Spain was the first battleground in which Fascism and the Rest fought out for victory. It started when Franco wanted to reimpose the monarchy with a coup d'etat. The 2nd Spanish Republic was trying to lift Spain out of the feudal system it was still in. Only three regions had been industrialized: the Basque Country, Catalonia and Madrid. The rest of Spain was still agricultural and some parts, still remote. The Republic was in charge of introducing democracy into the country and of passing laws for agricultural reforms. However, because parliamentary democracy is a slow process and the country's peasants and workers had been organized by Anarchists and Socialists in unions or not, within weeks the country was paralysed by strikes and demonstrations. Very soon the Republic was forced to bring in the military, to maintain its power over the people, who were increasingly growing restless. The traditional centres of power: clergy, nobility and military and those close to them saw that the Republic could not control the situation and in 1936 organized a 'secret' coup d'etat. I say 'secret' because the Anarchists in the CNT-FAI (Anarchist Union) had discovered it through their espionage apparatus. So, in part, we could say that the Spanish Republic took part in the coup, as it did nothing to stop it; it ignored the information the Aarchists gave them. The Socialists and Anarchists practically controlled the factories and the fields. So when the military rised in every city in the country two days before the planned time, the resistance replied defeating half of them and giving out the weapons to the citizens. In the Spanish Civil War we can see how amazing workers unity can be and also how sectarian it can become. First of all, they took over half of the military forts of the country and then, when the power of the Republic had dissapeared, collectivised the land. Factories continued to run and communities continued to work, but without the elite in charge. But secondly, the many groups that formed part of the resistance: The International brigade and forces, Catalan and Basque nationalists, trotskyists, stalinists, anarchists and progressive capitalists were the key to the downfall of the movement. There was no cohesion amongst them. There was one common enemy, but the resistance would not fight in unity against it. In the backlines political skirmishes were constant. Barcelona had become the scene of "the civil war in the civil war". Its streets were a battleground amongst all of the resistance factions, even though the enemy was closing in 300 km to the west.
In the end the Republic collapsed and Franco won. 39 years of a fascist dictatorship followed, which caused many people to exile and at the end of the day a lot of suffering.
This lack of cohesion is still apparent in the revolutionary left. We may all have our differences and the way we reach our goals may be different, but it pays to create ties and help eachother every now and then, for specific long or short-term campaigns. The ISO may be trotskyist, Worker's Party Maoist and Beyond Resistance, Anarchist; but we all want to improve worker's rights. We all know that the parliamentary parties will not give us workers any improvements, so we should earn them ourselves, united. This doesn't mean we have to accept every opinion of the other groups, just that we have to remain united for the sake of the workers. This won't dilute our politics, it can only strengthen them. Through debates, arguments and demonstrations.
YFTR.
In the end the Republic collapsed and Franco won. 39 years of a fascist dictatorship followed, which caused many people to exile and at the end of the day a lot of suffering.
This lack of cohesion is still apparent in the revolutionary left. We may all have our differences and the way we reach our goals may be different, but it pays to create ties and help eachother every now and then, for specific long or short-term campaigns. The ISO may be trotskyist, Worker's Party Maoist and Beyond Resistance, Anarchist; but we all want to improve worker's rights. We all know that the parliamentary parties will not give us workers any improvements, so we should earn them ourselves, united. This doesn't mean we have to accept every opinion of the other groups, just that we have to remain united for the sake of the workers. This won't dilute our politics, it can only strengthen them. Through debates, arguments and demonstrations.
YFTR.
Friday, December 3, 2010
For the first time ever I was flying over this land, leaving its clouds, above everyone else. In a matter of minutes we had crossed 30 landscapes that took me 2 years to discover. Below me were the orange plains, farmland; then the imposing mountains, forlorn with strems diced with ice and valleys unvisited for centuries, if ever; then there was the thin strip I had only visited days ago, the strip of land from which New Zealand is born and to which so many waters flow. The plains, Aoraki and the washed incline had disappeared. For the first time ever I was flying from this land I will permanently be trapped in, or because.
In Munich I was able to hear the catalan rhythm again. I felt excited! For two and a half years I'd only heard my mother tongue from my mum. Now randoms, speaking about weather and politics. It's funny how every culture has favourite topics that spring up again and again when people talk. For Catalans it's these two. I was more than glad to overhear. I ell que es, Catala o Espanyol? [What is he, Catalan or Spainsh?] You see, you can't be both. Again Catalonia is reviving politically, as it did in the late 19th century and in the 1930s. Being Spanish rules you out from being Catalan, but being Catalan automatically, to the eyes of many, puts you in a bullfighters uniform, playing a Spainish guitar. It is a shame and painful. Something many won't understand. There is this pride in seeing your own do well. Catalans have been oppressed for more or less 300 out of the last 550 years, at intervals. A mi no em costa res parlar Castella, pero si m'obliguen em fot dels ous. No em costa res, pero jo se que em podrien entendre. [It isn't an effort for me to speak Spanish, but if they force me it fucks me off. It's no effort but I know they could understand me] For most of the three hundred years the language was prohibited. This has inevitably made it closer to spanish, as it is the language that had to be used in the streets. The influence was unavoidable, like French influenced the proto-English tongue. It is frustrating for Catalans to have to speak Spanish. Simply put, how would one feel about not being able to speak English in England, or Maori in Aotearoa? However, when entering the plane the guy answered the hostess in Spanish, because that is the language he was spoken to. Spanair is Catalan. It is such a cultural thing to do to drop Catalan straight away, when asked. Catalans are bilingual, or tri; Spanish don't give a damn. This is Spain they say. Catalans may always just accept, cot their head down and do as they're told. Of course they shouldn't. Independentist feelings have grown again, for the first time since the late 80's when the resistance movement of the Catalan terrorists Terra Lliure started to dwindle. If we want to be part of a democracy, we should become independant, this comes through fighting and resistance.
"No et limites a contemplar aquestes hores que ara venen, baixa al carrer i participa. No podran res davant un poble unit, alegre i combatiu" - Vicent Ferrer.
[Don't just sit and watch these hours here to come, go on to the streets and take part. They won't be able to do anything against a united, proud and fighting nation.
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