Catalonia is one of the oldest nations in Europe, and its languageis Catalan!
enric@enricgine.cat
1) What is Catalonia?
Catalonia is a nation, which was born on February 19, 988 and was stripped of its rights as a nation in 1714, after the War of Succession. It has been at political war against Spain ever since. Catalonia, like any other millennial culture, has its own language, gastronomy, dance… It has been a Kingdom, Republic and Principality and countless customs that make Catalonia, throughout many centuries, have a relevant Culture.
2) Media
The media play a very important role, both in Spain and Catalonia, and as in the whole world, but especially in the Spanish media, perhaps out of ignorance, perhaps out of convictions, perhaps to please the government, they have been especially very harsh against Catalonia. They have always hidden, in whole or in part, their relationship with Catalonia. They believe that Catalonia is a part of Spain, where a dialect is spoken, and our identity bothers them a lot. Even when we speak Catalan, they think we do it to provoke the Spaniards. Abans en temps franquistes, estava prohibit parlar el nostre idioma, el català, i quan havies d’anar a un lloc públic, i et dirigies en castellà, et deien que parlessis en “cristià”, tant la TV com la Ràdio, com en the State newspapers are totally indoctrinated and even the news is manipulated, and some of them that do not interest them are omitted, and those that are interesting to the State, increased. Catalan TV has been awarded many times for its impartiality and professionalism, the state media has been questioned, even by its own staff. The Madrid government wants to intervene in the Catalan media because, according to them, they indoctrinate the Catalans, and in this way they can control them.
3) Justice
What is Justice in Catalonia? Well, Justice should be, in the whole world, just, and nothing else. What is happening in Catalonia? We have five people from the legitimate government in exile, the two Jordis , the vice-president of the legitimate government, and the Minister of the Interior are in prison. Tothom jurídic, tant l’espanyol com el català, estan d’acord que es tracta d’una injustícia, que aquesta gent estigui empresonada no té cap base jurídica. What happens is that the “Unity of the Motherland” is indestructible, according to the Constitution itself. TC himself knows that this, legally, has no basis, given that he does what the political power dictates. The TC has no one before them to question it. First he makes his decisions, when it comes to “The Unity of the Fatherland”, the TC has the support of the Spanish Government, and of all the judges, whether or not they agree with them, and has, behind him, the whole Nation spanish
4) Constitution
The Franco period, forty years of dictatorship, affected the Spanish population, like all dictatorships, impoverishing its population, both physically and intellectually. The dictatorship did a lot of damage and we are still suffering the consequences and it will take a long time to normalize this situation. Anyway here, in Catalonia, there is a fact that no one has been able to destroy since 1714 and that is that the Catalan sentiment has not been able to move a millimeter, it is still intact (of course there are new Catalans and immigrants que no volen ser catalans, sinó espanyols, d’això ja parlaré en un altre Pecat Capital, “Nous catalans”). We were asked many questions following the end of Francoism, when, theoretically, it arrived, the political parties found a way to be able to open a new period, which they called “transition to democracy”. An attempt was made to make a new Constitution, which could be accepted by all. It was very difficult, especially for the army. The Constitution came out which was only possible in 1978. In 1981 there was a coup d’état caused by those who longed for the old regime. It was a failed coup d’état, but this Constitution is what we have now, a constitution that, in 2018, is of no use, not even for the Spanish and much less for the other identities that live together in Spain. It was not a transition, it was a continuation of the Franco regime.
5) The Unity of the Motherland
First we will have to explain what this word is or how it is understood. Here, in Catalonia, we Catalans understand it as repression, but we will have to do a bit of history to understand it a little better. We will have to go to 1492, when, in a benevolent moment for Castile, which was conducive to an unprecedented conquest, Castile and Aragon conquered almost all of South America , Central America , Mexico and many others. Already, in those days, Castile and Aragon had the feeling of conquest and this is what he did, and it turned out well. He became rich by using the tools they used as repression, annihilation, destruction of language, religion, culture and expropriation of all goods, gold, and in this way he took command of this entire Empire. The ships left full of gold and slaves towards Spain. Here was born the feeling of “the Unity of the Motherland”, with time and little by little, the Spanish Empire fell, until today, where only Galicia, the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Valencian Country and also Ceuta, Melilla, and the Canary and Balearic Islands. Despite this setback “The Unity of the Fatherland” is as strong as ever. Last year I went to Madrid and a taxi driver, hearing my Catalan accent, asked me if I was Catalan. I told him yes, and he asked if I had any comments on the current political situation. I told him that if the Catalans want to be independent, it must be the will of the Catalan people, right? I asked him what his comment was, and he said with a very long and sad face: “A broken Spain?!!!!!!” I was not surprised because I saw that “The Unity of the Fatherland” is still very much within the Spanish people. It’s a “Gen”, it’s a psychiatric, psychological thing that, through the history of Spain, has taken hold and deepened within the Spanish mind. The problem with “the unity of the Motherland” is that the Spanish do not know what it is. It has been repeated so many times that they have it in the “Genes”. For a Catalan or for another human being, he will see that unity is, “one who commands and the others are to serve”. Pure colonialism, it is the colonies that bring the goods to the Empire and that this unity cannot be broken for obvious reasons, Madrid wants unity and when the Spanish are cured of this disease, they will see that the rulers have taken them the hair Franco was the greatest anti-communist in the history of mankind. Well, as you all know, his phrase: “Before a red and broken Spain”. Amazing, isn’t it? And today this phrase is as alive or more than ever or just as well as ever. That’s why Catalans have it so bad. We will have to fight hard for our liberation. When Spain puts so much emphasis on “The Unity of the Motherland” something is wrong. Let’s see what’s there. I copied and pasted Article 2 of the Spanish Constitution: “Article 2, the Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards”. This is in article 2 of the Constitution. Unbelievable, Spain is still the same as in the time of the conquerors, “the Unity of the Motherland”. I am not sure, but Spain must be the only country in the world where in such a priority place in the constitution it is so important for its citizens to tell them what “The Unity of the Fatherland” represents.
6) Humiliations
One of the many degradations that are done by the State and some Spanish people are humiliations against Catalonia. For them our history does not exist, the language is a dialect and for them, Catalonia is Spain. They despise Catalan culture, they ridicule it and now, in the last days of the Process, they even insult, threaten, and remind the politicians that they have children, and, to our president, to remind him that a very honorable president of the Generalitat he was miserably shot in the Castle of Montjuïc. The humiliations have reached an unsustainable level for the dignity of a person, whatever his ideology. They say that the Catalan media are indoctrinating Catalans, but it is they, not us, who must tell the truth, and nothing more. The 1st of October, election day for the Parliament of Catalonia and, moreover, a day of mourning, because the Spanish Police made very violent charges against the people who went to vote. It was another act of humiliation against our people, after these uncivil acts, the Spanish people rewarded the policemen who beat our people with trips and pleasure holidays, to thank the policemen who d’enfrontar amb aquells insurrectes, rebels… Els catalans ens adonem que els espanyols ens odien i un exemple d’això és que quan els policies espanyols sortien cap a Catalunya, de les diferents ciutats espanyoles, per reprimir els catalans, els policies they shouted “a per ells”, as if saying that not a single Catalan should be left on foot, the insults we had to hear are countless… You could write whole pages of these adjectives. This is the estimate that a good part of Spain has for us. Here is a group of examples.
Duc d’Olivares, 1641 : It is necessary to reduce Catalonia to Castilian usages and customs.
Martínez Anido to Primo de Rivera : Catalonia must be filled with the worst that Spain has.
Francisco de Quevedo, 1640 : The Catalan is the saddest and most miserable creature that God created and they are thieves with three hands, as long as there is only one Catalan left in Catalonia, and stones in the desert fields we must have enemies and wars.
Miguel de Unamuno, 1905 : If the state did not impose Spanish throughout Spain, dialects would be imposed on Spanish.
Felip 5 de Borbó, 1715 : Que a les escoles no es permetin llibres en llengua catalana, escriure ni parlar-hi dins de les escoles i que la doctrina cristiana hi sigui i l’aprenguin en castellà.
Manuel Azaña, 1931 : A person I know assures that it is a law of the history of Spain that it is necessary to bombard Barcelona every fifty years, the unjust and harsh, but solid and comfortable system of Felip Vera has been valid for two centuries.
Queipo de plan, 1936 : We transform Madrid into an orchard, Bilbao into a large factory and Barcelona into an immense lot.
Manuel Fraga, 1968 : Catalonia was occupied by Felipe IV who defeated it, it was bombed by General Esparter and we occupy it in 1939 and we are ready to occupy it as many times as necessary and that is why I am ready to take it again the rifle
José Prat, 1984 : Els catalans només són importants quan parlen en castellà.
Calvo Sotelo, 1983 : Spanish-speaking immigration to Catalonia and the Balearic Islands must be encouraged in order to ensure the maintenance of Spanish sentiment.
Felipe Gonzalez, 1984 : Terrorism in the Basque Country is a matter of order, but the real danger is the Catalan differential fact.
Santiago Bernabéu, 1968 : I like Catalonia, what I don’t like are the Catalans.
Antonio Machado, 1937 : Of those who claim to be Galicians, Catalans, Basques… Before Spaniards, always distrust them. They tend to be incomplete, insufficient Spaniards from whom nothing great can be expected.
These are the people who have loved us since time immemorial.
7) The New Catalans
Who lives in Catalonia? Many people live here, as in the rest of the world, tourists, refugees, immigrants, new Catalans, Catalans… Etc. Ens concentrarem, només, amb els immigrants espanyols i nous catalans. The new Catalans and Spaniards are the same thing. They are people who, for whatever reason, come to Catalonia to live or work. Immigrants, foreigners or Spaniards who come to work, find themselves with a language and culture completely unknown. The new Catalan will live with two cultures, that of his origin and Catalan. Over time he will integrate into the new Catalan culture, for whatever reason, he is fine in his new society, although he does not want to lose his culture of origin. Although he doesn’t speak Catalan, he feels Catalan because, in addition to being integrated, they find that Catalan culture gives them many values and they sometimes feel more Catalan than the Catalans themselves. Perhaps there are also first and second generation Catalans who, perhaps, have not integrated very well and consider themselves Catalan, but are against the language and Catalonia as a state, and want to be and continue to be a province of Spain . As a result of this analysis, you can see that everything is a bit complex, but it is not. In the sixties Catalonia had an immigration of 42% of the active population. This immigration was a revolution, however, it somewhat denatured Catalan culture. Sociologists say that 12.5% immigration is the quota allowed to not denature a culture. Well, on the one hand, it hurt us, but on the other hand, it was very beneficial, since there was a lack of labor and, thanks to this immigration that came, the vast majority of Andalusia and especially Murcia , Catalonia had a very strong economic progress and many people from this region became immigrants or new Catalans and, many of them, their sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, are Catalans and defend Catalonia. There are other new Catalan immigrants, which is more complicated to make an analysis. We could categorize this group into political parties called Constitutionalists. These parties affect the people who came to work here a few years ago, these groups have a Spanish ideology, and may or may not be working class, and many may be South Americans who come or have come to work in multinationals such as now Telephone, supermarkets, construction, finally, services. The typical worker who has come here because there is a better chance of making a living. There is also another group that socially perhaps has a higher level. Finally, a socially high group, this is on the boards of companies. These three groups that I have just mentioned do not want, nor do they want to integrate into Catalonia. They consider Catalonia to be Spain. Hi ha gent que ha nascut o no a Catalunya, i que viuen amb una altra cultura dins de Catalunya, que podria ser espanyolista, i que ells es consideren tan Catalans com els Catalans independentistes. They believe that the mere fact of having been born or living in Catalonia gives them the right to be Catalan. An example, the Catalan leader of Citizens, Inés Arrimadas García. Ella parla Català, viu a Catalunya, i ella amb un entorn espanyolista, i sense tenir cap sentiment cap a Catalunya per contra, un exemple, que amb això no vull dir que ella és terrorista. They are fortunately peaceful, but if ignorant. A pure example can be seen in a terrorist who lives in Catalonia, for example in Ripoll. They were born in Catalonia, they love Catalonia, but they commit crimes against Catalonia. Inés Arrimadas is not a terrorist, he does not kill people fortunately. Això no obstant destrueix la seva cultura on ella mateixa viu, per” mostra un botó”, i com ella hi ha molta gent que viu a Catalunya, això no obstant que no se senten Catalans, se senten Espanyols. I have lived in Denmark for forty years, and now I live in a small town in Girona, Tossa de Mar, I was born in Barcelona, but I have lived half my life in Denmark. I love both Denmark and Catalonia. Denmark has given me many things, many values, my problem is that I have a broken heart. Això no obstant no fa res, ja amor suficient per a les dues nacionalitats, no tinc que refusar una per tindre l’altre, com fan els Catalans que no volen perdre la seva identitat Espanyola. I love both with an incalculable deep love, I am very lucky that two cultures welcome me, I am very lucky, and it would be a great misfortune to lose one of them, they are always in my heart. How has it gone to the American countries that were robbed, impoverished, they have destroyed all their culture, including their language. But what is a Country? A Country consists of a culture, a language, a dance, a flag, a literature that consists of poetry to songs, books and etc., etc. And finally a story, and you can’t trivialize a culture like Inés Arrimades and other constitutionalists do, saying that they are as Catalan as those of us who really feel Catalan. All these people show is a deep ignorance and contempt against our culture. To feel Catalan is not only to love the territory, but also to identify with all parts of Catalan culture. A person cannot say that he loves Catalonia, and attack its culture as many people do, and constitutionalists. I love Catalonia, because I feel identified with all its branches of its culture, and like others who have given their lives to defend it, I would also defend it against those who want its disintegration, or annexation to the seva cultura Espanyola, com Espanya ho ha fet amb totes les seves colònies tan americanes, com amb la Gallega, País Basc, Catalana i moltíssimes altres, sobretot d’espanyols, que pels motius que siguin, tenen o volen tenir uns vincles o valors amb Spain, for its Spanishness. This group of immigrants or new Catalans, for reference , have, as I said before, sympathy for constitutionalist groups, and this is a danger for our culture, because there must be a maximum of immigration allowed, as I have said before, in any country. An example I want to mention is Kosovo. This new country was, before its unilateral Independence, a Serbian state. In Kosovo there was a very strong immigration from Albania, which reached 94%. 6% were Serbs, and 94% Albanians, a cultural aberration for which the Serbs paid dearly. They lost Kosovo in a democratic way. Do we want to lose our culture? Our language? Our customs? If the answer is “no!” we have to be very careful and act accordingly. It would be very interesting if we all did a reflection together. This is very important because, statistically, it shows that all the Constitutionalists who are against the Process, and this is evidence that, “when we have more progress in Catalonia, there is a decline in independenceists” . Possibly, the latest immigration that arrives in Catalonia remains surprised by the Catalan situation. Obviously, these new arrivals have no emotional or sentimental ties to Catalonia. This means that, the more successful we are in our country, the sweeter we will be, and consequently, more people will come to Catalonia, and the fewer pro-independence people we will have. Repeteixo “El nostre èxit serà la nostra destrucció de l’Estat Català”, que és, precisament, el que l’Estat Espanyol vol. Recently , a Political Party has emerged that they call ultra-right, which is Vox. This is also classified as constitutionalists, just like PP and Ciutadans. All the constitutionalist parties are against independenceists putting yellow ribbons on streets and public places. His argument is that public places belong to everyone, and precisely because they belong to everyone, independenceists wear yellow ribbons. Being able to express oneself in a public place must be the pure essence of democracy, not as it happens in dictatorships, which must be inside the houses and hidden. If the constitutionalists do not agree with the yellow ribbons that others of another color wear or that demonstrate it in public places. This is called democracy, don’t rip off others because they have a different ideology. Another of the arguments that the constitutionalists say is that families in Catalonia are torn apart, because of independence. This could partly be true, but according to the part that is observed if one is a constitutionalist, blame those who want to break with Spain and if you are not, it is those who want the extinction of Catalonia as a Nation and its disintegration within Spain. This argument exists all over the world, families at odds because one party has an ideology contrary to the other. This is called pure democracy, in the USA, the nation is divided into two parts, one is the Republicans and the other is the Democrat , in England also, one is the Labor Party and the other is the Conservative , and it is like this all over the world , that’s democracy.
8) Legality
What is legality? It’s very easy to define, isn’t it? It is doing what is within the law everything else is illegal. It is very difficult for us Catalans if we want to be independent, right? Well yes, if we are to be within the legality, we will have to convince a majority of Spaniards to let us out and, for that, we need to convince the political parties, and that is difficult because they have the majority. PP, PSOE and Cs do not want to break with the Sacred Unity of the Fatherland , in addition, the Constitution must be changed and blah, blah, blah… Total, impossible, we can never be independent. So let’s do a little history. The fall of the Spanish Empire was when Spain began to lose its colonies and none of them left Spain in a democratic way, meaning within the law. It was with pure illegality. That’s why I say, how can the independence of Catalonia be achieved? But with the difference that most states, when they separated, did so via open wars or violence. In addition, the distance did not play in Spain’s favor and today, in a Catalonia that is and has always been non-violent, the bottom line is that it has always been done illegally. No one gives up their sovereignty amicably, and Spain didn’t either, she took it by force and gave it back so she couldn’t do anything else. That is why I say that Spain cannot now preach when she did what she did by force, and she did it Illegally, with violence and wars. Now we are in a different time and many years have passed, more than three hundred years, that we lost the war, our sovereignty, our language, our culture and our rights, and now, it is time for Spain to return to us our rights, which are like what the blacks wanted, to have the same rights as the whites. What did the whites say when they banned blacks from entering? “What did these blacks think?” Blacks had to commit many illegalities to achieve equality with whites. Women’s suffrage, another right, many illegalities also had to be committed to get the right to vote. To legalize abortion, how many women had to abort when it was prohibited, pure illegality. I could name hundreds, thousands of things that people used to do illegally that are now legal. The will of the people makes the law, not the law makes the people. The people of Catalonia want to become independent, and there is no more sovereign will than the will of a people, moreover, with the aggravating fact that the domineering people have not been of much help to us, quite the opposite. He has persecuted our language, culture and impoverished us in an illegal way, both in Spain and international law, where the United Nations says that languages and cultures in extinction must be helped. Spain, however, defends the Spanish language because it believes that it is the one that is dying out in Catalonia. Therefore, illegality is the only way to move forward from this impasse. We have the United Nations to protect us. We are not illegal there.
Song of Freedom
Enric Giné i Orengo