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| Catalonia tales: 'would the average Catalan citizen really be better off?' | Catalonia tales: 'would the average Catalan citizen really be better off?' |
| (4 months later) | |
| Among the many responses I got to my request for Catalan independence views were those of foreigners who live in Catalonia, some of them for many years. They often have a very different take on the question than many Catalans – although not always. Here are some more opinions | Among the many responses I got to my request for Catalan independence views were those of foreigners who live in Catalonia, some of them for many years. They often have a very different take on the question than many Catalans – although not always. Here are some more opinions |
| Roy Waters, British | Roy Waters, British |
| "I'm opposed to the path Artur Mas and his political party CiU are leading the Catalans. He rejects what I believe in. I believe in democracy; Mas does not. I believe in integrating, understanding, respecting and, indeed, learning from other cultures; Mas believes in separation rather than integration. I believe in creating wealth so that the world can live better. If Catalonia became independent the rest of Spain would be poorer and Catalonia itself fairly dramatically poorer. Mas also believes in wealth (look at his fortune) but he doesn't know how to create it for other people (look at the Catalan debt). | "I'm opposed to the path Artur Mas and his political party CiU are leading the Catalans. He rejects what I believe in. I believe in democracy; Mas does not. I believe in integrating, understanding, respecting and, indeed, learning from other cultures; Mas believes in separation rather than integration. I believe in creating wealth so that the world can live better. If Catalonia became independent the rest of Spain would be poorer and Catalonia itself fairly dramatically poorer. Mas also believes in wealth (look at his fortune) but he doesn't know how to create it for other people (look at the Catalan debt). |
| "I reject racism; Mas bases his mass popularity meetings on race (which he calls nationalism) – I don't think I've heard Mas mention "residents of Catalonia" (many of whom are not Catalans), he stresses "Catalans". I reject imperialism; but if you listen to some of the more outspoken members of the Catalan independence movement you'll learn that a little of France and a little of Italy as well as Valencia and the Balearic Isles "belong to Catalonia". | "I reject racism; Mas bases his mass popularity meetings on race (which he calls nationalism) – I don't think I've heard Mas mention "residents of Catalonia" (many of whom are not Catalans), he stresses "Catalans". I reject imperialism; but if you listen to some of the more outspoken members of the Catalan independence movement you'll learn that a little of France and a little of Italy as well as Valencia and the Balearic Isles "belong to Catalonia". |
| "I'd like to encourage people who have the right to vote – I don't, I've only lived here 17 years – to move actively to save democracy in Spain, to help Catalan politicians to participate and integrate with the rest of the world, to stimulate economic growth in Catalonia and to kill the racist and imperialist sentiments of so many Catalans once and for all." | "I'd like to encourage people who have the right to vote – I don't, I've only lived here 17 years – to move actively to save democracy in Spain, to help Catalan politicians to participate and integrate with the rest of the world, to stimulate economic growth in Catalonia and to kill the racist and imperialist sentiments of so many Catalans once and for all." |
| Damon Bell, British | Damon Bell, British |
| "I have been living in Barcelona for 17 years. Recently the Catalans celebrated the, 'Diada' (11th September) which commemorates the fall of Catalonia to the Spanish military. It's a festive day, celebrated with marches and speeches; attendance was vast this year. Although neither I nor my wife (who is Catalan) share many of the Catalan political sentiments I wanted to witness the event. A sea of people waving the independence flags filled the main streets. Looking at the march I don't remember seeing any foreign faces, and only Catalan was spoken. There was little sign of the 60% of the population who are not Catalans, who stay quietly at home and dare not speak against pro-nationalist sentiments. | "I have been living in Barcelona for 17 years. Recently the Catalans celebrated the, 'Diada' (11th September) which commemorates the fall of Catalonia to the Spanish military. It's a festive day, celebrated with marches and speeches; attendance was vast this year. Although neither I nor my wife (who is Catalan) share many of the Catalan political sentiments I wanted to witness the event. A sea of people waving the independence flags filled the main streets. Looking at the march I don't remember seeing any foreign faces, and only Catalan was spoken. There was little sign of the 60% of the population who are not Catalans, who stay quietly at home and dare not speak against pro-nationalist sentiments. |
| "There is an increasing feeling that the independence ideology is not for all, although all will be affected by it one way or another. Meanwhile suggestions that the separatist campaign is a distraction or huge smoke screen to cover up bigger issues of incompetence and corruption seem to gather strength; the dreams and ambitions of Artur Mas and his CiU government for Catalonia have to be seriously questioned in the light of their mismanagement. And would the average Catalan citizen really be better off under independence, would people recover their jobs or homes, would the future be better? The danger is that 'Catalanismo' could lead its people into a violent impasse from which they may struggle a long time to recover from." | "There is an increasing feeling that the independence ideology is not for all, although all will be affected by it one way or another. Meanwhile suggestions that the separatist campaign is a distraction or huge smoke screen to cover up bigger issues of incompetence and corruption seem to gather strength; the dreams and ambitions of Artur Mas and his CiU government for Catalonia have to be seriously questioned in the light of their mismanagement. And would the average Catalan citizen really be better off under independence, would people recover their jobs or homes, would the future be better? The danger is that 'Catalanismo' could lead its people into a violent impasse from which they may struggle a long time to recover from." |
| Peter Clark, Irish | Peter Clark, Irish |
| "I personally think that the issue has arisen because some people in Catalonia believe that separation from Spain is the solution to Spain's current crisis. My worry is that responsibility for any part in the economic meltdown is being ignored by directing all blame at the Spanish government." | "I personally think that the issue has arisen because some people in Catalonia believe that separation from Spain is the solution to Spain's current crisis. My worry is that responsibility for any part in the economic meltdown is being ignored by directing all blame at the Spanish government." |
| Brian McLean, British | Brian McLean, British |
| "What we are really talking about is the economy. How much money gets spent on your services. When the first cut-backs began to bite (the Catalan government started on them well before Madrid), more and more people woke up to the fact that it was their schools that were affected, their kids in larger classes. Time to get appointments at their GP lengthened, unemployment rose. All of a sudden, €16bn pouring into the coffers in Madrid stopped being a "Catalan" problem. Immigrants from other parts of Spain began to see that "their" government in Madrid had abandoned them. | "What we are really talking about is the economy. How much money gets spent on your services. When the first cut-backs began to bite (the Catalan government started on them well before Madrid), more and more people woke up to the fact that it was their schools that were affected, their kids in larger classes. Time to get appointments at their GP lengthened, unemployment rose. All of a sudden, €16bn pouring into the coffers in Madrid stopped being a "Catalan" problem. Immigrants from other parts of Spain began to see that "their" government in Madrid had abandoned them. |
| "From 2010 pro-independence has grown to what is, conservatively, estimated at 60% today, with a further 20% wanting to renegotiate fiscal relations. And faced with this clamour, how does Madrid react? Threats of tanks, a veto on entry to the EU, the economy coming apart and a return to subsistence farming and scavenging in rubbish-strewn streets. I know independence is not like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. There is no guarantee that an independent Catalan government would be any better than the present one in Madrid; it would, though, be very hard to be worse." | "From 2010 pro-independence has grown to what is, conservatively, estimated at 60% today, with a further 20% wanting to renegotiate fiscal relations. And faced with this clamour, how does Madrid react? Threats of tanks, a veto on entry to the EU, the economy coming apart and a return to subsistence farming and scavenging in rubbish-strewn streets. I know independence is not like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. There is no guarantee that an independent Catalan government would be any better than the present one in Madrid; it would, though, be very hard to be worse." |
| • If you have a story to tell, know someone Jon should talk to or live somewhere you think he should visit, please contact him via email at jon.henley@guardian.co.uk, or Twitter @jonhenley (the hashtag for this journey is #CataloniaTales) | • If you have a story to tell, know someone Jon should talk to or live somewhere you think he should visit, please contact him via email at jon.henley@guardian.co.uk, or Twitter @jonhenley (the hashtag for this journey is #CataloniaTales) |
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