{"id":3864,"date":"2011-11-16T19:38:30","date_gmt":"2011-11-17T00:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/?p=3864"},"modified":"2011-11-16T19:38:31","modified_gmt":"2011-11-17T00:38:31","slug":"thickculture-dispatches-xenophobia-in-a-divided-catalonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/2011\/11\/16\/thickculture-dispatches-xenophobia-in-a-divided-catalonia\/","title":{"rendered":"Thickculture Dispatches: Xenophobia in a Divided Catalonia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a guest post by Catalan journalist Llu\u00eds de Nadal Alsina. He\u2019s worked for four years at Public Catalan Television, and now serves as a reporter at the private TV station, 8TV.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ruben and Mai, a couple of 20-somethings, wander with their three American Pitbulls around the cold and dark streets of Salt, a small town near Barcelona with a 50% immigrant population. \u201cI never go out without my dogs\u201d, she says, \u201cmany North Africans have threatened to rape me\u201d. He defines himself as \u201cracist\u201d and complains that most immigrants are either thieves or drug dealers. \u201cI\u2019m fed up with seeing them drive expensive Audis while I can\u2019t even afford a motorcycle\u201d, he grumbles. They are both unemployed and have a kid on the way. \u201cI wish we could raise the baby somewhere else\u201d, she laments.<\/p>\n

Only a few minutes later, in the same area, we start hearing cries of \u201cRacists, out of Salt!\u201d A demonstration of immigrants is making it\u2019s way towards the sports center where Josep Anglada, the most significant xenophobic leader in Spain, is about to give the opening speech of his campaign for the November 20th Spanish general election. A police cordon blocks off access to the venue to avert any clashes. \u201cSalt is a pressure cooker\u201d, a police officer tells me, \u201cand any spark can blow it up. There\u2019s no coexistence here. People just put up with each other\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the current economic crisis, powder kegs such as Salt are a breeding ground for the wave of xenophobia sweeping across Europe. Fear of Islam has become the main strategy of neo-populist parties to carve out a place in the parliaments of a dozen European countries. Meanwhile, traditional parties flirt with racism to maintain their voters\u2019 support. Old Europe, bastion of democracy and freedom, is giving in to populism and xenophobia.<\/p>\n

Denmark, for example, beefed up border controls to curb illegal immigration in a move that caused concern among EU neighbors, since the 1995 Shengen Agreement abolished internal borders; France deported almost 10,000 Romanian Gypsies last year; and Switzerland imposed a national ban on the construction of minarets, the prayer towers of mosques. The recent massacre in Oslo, perpetrated by anti-muslim Anders Behring Breivik, showed that latent hatred and bigotry can unleash occasional episodes of extreme brutality.<\/p>\n

In Spain, engrossed in the general election campaign, the anti-muslim discourse surfaces again and again. Right-leaning nationalist parliamentary leader Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida just expressed his concern for \u201cthe loss of our national identity to the birth of more Mohammeds than Jos\u00e9s\u201d, while Alicia S\u00e1nchez Camacho, leader of the conservative People\u2019s Party, proclaimed that “burkas should be banned across the country”. For the first time in Spain\u2019s democracy, a xenophobic leader, Josep Anglada, could enter Parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo get \u2018em!\u201d, Anglada cries. It is the grand finale to his Salt speech before a hundred fanatics who break out into cheers each time he drops a racist comment, such as \u201csoon we won\u2019t know if we live in Spain or in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just a few hours before, in his hometown of Vic, another small city on the outskirts of Barcelona with an almost 30% immigrant population, he shows his other face. In the main plaza, he gives out pamphlets himself, greeting almost everyone by name. He works for every vote with a smile.<\/p>\n

With the cleverness of someone who has always moved on the edge of democracy -he is a long-standing fascist and follower of Franco, the former Spanish dictator- he dodges my questions. \u201cI\u2019m not a radical\u201d, he interrupts me, \u201cbut just the people\u2019s megaphone. The country is tired of political correctness\u201d.<\/p>\n

Chatting with citizens of Vic, one perceives that his discourse has made a deep impression on them. \u201cThings have to be called by their names\u201d, a local man tells me, \u201cit is not acceptable that people born and bred in Vic be forced out of their homes because their neighborhood has gotten filled with immigrants. Nobody wants them nearby. If a Moroccan moves into your block, the value of your apartment plummets instantly.\u201d \u201cPeople keep it quiet\u201d, he adds, \u201cbut everybody votes Anglada\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rafael Jorba, journalist and author of \u201cLa mirada del otro. Manifiesto por la alteridad\u201d (In the Other’s Gaze. An Otherness Manifesto), explains to me that \u201cit is not a matter of discourses, but a matter of resources\u201d. \u201cAs immigration increases, those who arrived in Spain 30 years ago have to share public subsidies with newcomers. The struggle is between the poor and the poorer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn times of crises\u201d, he continues, \u201cthe only governments that survive are the ones that best manage fear. But the future is not built out of fear, but out of hope. Even though today\u2019s Europe resembles a sepia tone picture, a still image of the past, a new generation capable of managing hope is to come. Sooner or later, protesters from the so-called Spanish Revolution and the Occupy Wall Street movement will take over. They have grown up in this crisis, but they have been able to travel around the world thanks to exchange programs or low cost flights\u201d.<\/p>\n

This future, though, still seems to be very far away from cities like Vic or Salt. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why we have to be the bad guys of the movie\u201d, a Moroccan woman complains. Her greatest wish is for her three year old girl to have a promising future, but she is concerned because in her daughter\u2019s public day care center 100% of the kids are immigrants. As I interview her in the Vic market, we are insulted twice because the baby carriage seems to be blocking the access.<\/p>\n

In <\/em>Catalan<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Xenof\u00f2bia en una Catalunya dividida<\/p>\n

El Rub\u00e9n i la Mai passegen amb els seus tres American Pit Bulls pels carrers foscos i freds de Salt un vespre pluj\u00f3s de novembre. \u201cJo sense els meus gossos no surto\u201d, diu ella, \u201cmolts moros m\u2019han amena\u00e7at que em violarien\u201d. Ell, que s\u2019autodefineix com a \u201cracista\u201d, es queixa que la majoria de magrebins a Salt viuen de robar o vendre droga i que est\u00e0 fart de veure com van \u201camb Audis A6\u201d quan ell no pot pagar-se \u201cni un ciclomotor\u201d. Tots dos estan a l\u2019atur i esperen un fill, que no volen que creixi aqu\u00ed.<\/p>\n

Nom\u00e9s uns minuts despr\u00e9s, des de la mateixa zona, comencen a sentir-se crits de \u201cRacistes, fora de Salt!\u201d. Una manifestaci\u00f3 d\u2019immigrants subsaharians i magrebins es dirigeix cap al poliesportiu on la Plataforma per Catalunya de Josep Anglada est\u00e0 a punt de comen\u00e7ar el primer acte de la campanya de les eleccions del 20N. Un cord\u00f3 policial els barra el pas per evitar els enfrontaments d\u2019altres ocasions. \u201cSalt \u00e9s una olla a pressi\u00f3\u201d, em diu un Mosso d\u2019Esquadra, \u201cqualsevol espurna ho fa saltar tot. Aqu\u00ed no hi ha conviv\u00e8ncia, la gent se suporta\u201d.<\/p>\n

En el context actual de crisi, polvorins com el de Salt, amb un 50% d\u2019immigraci\u00f3, s\u00f3n el caldo de cultiu de l\u2019onada de xenof\u00f2bia que escombra Europa. Amb la por a l\u2019Islam com a \u00fanic argument electoral, partits neo populistes ja s\u2019han fet un lloc als parlaments d\u2019una dotzena de pa\u00efsos de la Uni\u00f3 Europea. Mentrestant, els partits tradicionals coquetegen amb el racisme per mantenir el suport del seu electorat. La vella Europa, basti\u00f3 de la democr\u00e0cia i la llibertat, cedeix davant del populisme i la xenof\u00f2bia.<\/p>\n

Dinamarca, per exemple, va reinstaurar els controls fronterers per frenar la immigraci\u00f3 il\u00b7legal, en un moviment que va provocar consternaci\u00f3 entre els seus ve\u00efns europeus, ja que el Tractat de Shengen va abolir l\u2019any 1995 les fronteres internes; Fran\u00e7a va deportar l\u2019any passat gaireb\u00e9 10.000 gitanos rumanesos; i Su\u00efssa va prohibir la construcci\u00f3 de minerets a les mesquites. La massacre d\u2019Oslo, perpetrada per l\u2019ultra dret\u00e0 Anders Behring Breivik, ha demostrat que l\u2019odi i el fanatisme latents poden defermar episodis puntuals d\u2019extrema barb\u00e0rie.<\/p>\n

A Espanya, en plena campanya electoral, el candidat de CiU Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida es mostrava \u201cpreocupat perqu\u00e8 neixin m\u00e9s Mohammed que Jos\u00e9\u201d o perqu\u00e8 \u201cels catalans perdem la nostra identitat\u201d. La l\u00edder del PP catal\u00e0 Al\u00edcia S\u00e1nchez Camacho proclamava que \u201cel burka s\u2019havia de prohibir a tot el pa\u00eds\u201d. Per primera vegada a la hist\u00f2ria de la democr\u00e0cia espanyola, un l\u00edder xen\u00f2fob, Josep Anglada, podria arribar al Congr\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

\u201cA por ellos\u201d, crida Anglada. \u00c9s la traca final del m\u00edting a Salt davant d\u2019un centenar de fan\u00e0tics que aplaudeixen enfervorits cada vegada que deixa anar un comentari racista, com que \u201cd\u2019aqu\u00ed poc no sabrem si vivim a Catalunya o l\u2019Afganistan\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hores abans, a Vic, la seva ciutat natal i feu electoral, Anglada mostra una cara ben diferent. A la pla\u00e7a Major, reparteix ell mateix propaganda electoral durant tot el mat\u00ed, saludant pel seu nom pr\u00e0cticament tothom qui s\u2019acosta a la paradeta de PxC. Es treballa cada vot amb un somriure.<\/p>\n

Amb l\u2019habilitat de qui s\u2019ha mogut sempre al l\u00edmit de la democr\u00e0cia -va ser membre de l\u2019organitzaci\u00f3 d\u2019ultradreta franquista Fuerza Nueva-, esquiva les meves preguntes. \u201cJo no s\u00f3c radical\u201d, m\u2019interromp, \u201cnom\u00e9s s\u00f3c l\u2019altaveu de la gent, que ja s\u2019ha cansat del pol\u00edticament correcte\u201d.<\/p>\n

Parlant amb els ciutadans de Vic, un s\u2019adona que el seu discurs ha calat fons. \u201cS\u2019han de dir les coses pel seu nom\u201d, em diu un ve\u00ed passejant per la pla\u00e7a, \u201cno pot ser que els d\u2019aqu\u00ed de tota la vida hagin hagut de marxar perqu\u00e8 se\u2019ls ha omplert el barri d\u2019immigrants. Ning\u00fa els vol al costat. Si un marroqu\u00ed ve a viure al teu bloc, el teu pis perd valor autom\u00e0ticament.\u201d \u201cLa gent calla\u201d, afegeix, \u201cper\u00f2 tothom vota Anglada\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rafael Jorba, periodista i autor del llibre \u201cLa mirada del otro. Manifiesto por la alteridad\u201d, m\u2019explica que \u201cno estem davant d\u2019un problema de discursos, sin\u00f3 de recursos\u201d. \u201cAmb l\u2019augment de la immigraci\u00f3, els que van arribar fa 30 anys i els que arriben ara s\u2019han de repartir les beques menjador o la renda m\u00ednima d\u2019inserci\u00f3. La lluita \u00e9s entre pobres i miserables.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEn \u00e8poca de crisi\u201d, continua Jorba, \u201cels \u00fanics governs que resisteixen s\u00f3n els que millor administren les pors. Per\u00f2 el futur no es construeix a partir de les pors, sin\u00f3 de les esperances. Tot i que l\u2019Europa actual sigui una foto s\u00e8pia, una imatge fixe del passat, ha de venir una nova generaci\u00f3 capa\u00e7 d\u2019administrar les esperances. M\u00e9s tard o m\u00e9s d\u2019hora, els indignats de la Spanish Revolution o del moviment Occupy Wall Street governaran. Ells han crescut en aquesta crisi, per\u00f2 han vist molt m\u00f3n gr\u00e0cies a les beques Erasmus o als vols low cost\u201d.<\/p>\n

El futur, per\u00f2, avui sembla encara molt lluny de Vic o de Salt. \u201cNo entenc per qu\u00e8 nosaltres hem de ser els dolents de la pel\u00b7l\u00edcula\u201d, es queixa una marroquina. El seu \u00fanic desig \u00e9s poder-li donar un futur a la seva filla de tres anys, per\u00f2 est\u00e0 preocupada perqu\u00e8 a la guarderia p\u00fablica on la porta el 100% dels alumnes s\u00f3n immigrants. Mentre xerrem al mercat de Vic, ens insulten dues vegades perqu\u00e8 sembla ser que el cotxet est\u00e0 bloquejant el pas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is a guest post by Catalan journalist Llu\u00eds de Nadal Alsina. He\u2019s worked for four years at Public Catalan Television, and now serves as a reporter at the private TV station, 8TV. Ruben and Mai, a couple of 20-somethings, wander with their three American Pitbulls around the cold and dark streets of Salt, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3864"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3886,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3864\/revisions\/3886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}