N-14: Reflections & Happenings

Remember Remember the .... 14th? of November? Today was a day for the books.  Sitting here watching the news, each union leader, representative, and public speaker have said that this is a day for history.  If you are unaware of what I am talking about, you should probably read yesterday's post first.

November 14, 2012 started out with a bang, literally.  Throughout the night the streets were filled with noise, bangs of firecrackers, and commotion.  While I attempted to get as much sleep as possible since I was to go to school in the morning, I was abruptly woken at 6:30am to a huge blast from the street.  Unsure of what made this sound, I was up at 6:30am.  Looking out my window, everything seemed fine and normal.  I got ready for work and headed down the street to meet my ride, Marcos, when I stumbled upon the cause of all the noise.

I met Marcos with ease, as the streets were almost empty.  There was barely any traffic and not very many people walking through the streets.  Everything seemed calm and safe.  We made our way to school where all the teachers at my school showed up for work.  

Since the buses, food services, and local businesses were all closed for the Folga Xeral, we had a whopping 1 student come to school today.  That's right.  One 3 year old student came to school today because his father is a lawyer, and was obligated to participate in legal matters pertaining to the strike.  

After spending the day lesson planning with various teachers, we made our way back to Vigo.  While I was at school, there was an organized peaceful march from Plaza España to Plaza America at 11:30am.  While I wasn't able to attend, I had a few friends participate.  Thousands of people showed up for the march.  While talking with friends, one of the comments they made about the march was how surprised they were that people marching were yelling at the bi-standers watching the march from their balconies above.  The protesters yelled their disappointment that these people were not supporting the cause by walking with the assembly.  

Plaza America in Vigo, filled with protesters blocking major traffic through the city center.  

Along with this, many businesses closed in the streets.  Those businesses that closed displayed signs in their windows declaring their loyalty to the general strike.  

Some other businesses who either chose to not close their doors, recognize the strike, or are considered large corporations with dodgy funding were treated differently by the participants in the streets.  

Blanco, a clothing line in Spain, has a broken window, posters plastered on its windows, paint splattered on its door, and was set fire on its second floor during protesting activities.  

Now you may be asking yourself, why was the general public protesting.  In reality, depending on the person protesting, there are a lot of issues with the economic and social situation in Spain.  

Some people were protesting against the current leader of Spain, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his budget and policies he has set into place since the start of his position in Dec.  

Others were protesting because of the manner banks in Spain have been doing business with the general public in Spain, forcing many out of their homes due to bankruptcy and foreclosures.  

There were people protesting the current relationship of Spain in the overall European Union, and the choices that the recent EU has made.  And some protesting against large corporations and supporting the legacy of the small business in Spain.  And there are probably other issues at hand as well that I am not aware of.  

All in all, the public here is not happy.  With unemployment in Spain teetering between 20-25% of the population, people are certain that something needs to change.  This general strike is the second this year, which is a rare event since Spain has only had a total of 7 general strikes in its history of democracy since 1975.  The news reported tonight that 75% of teachers in Spain and 80% of students in Spain went on strike today.  

After taking a walk through the street at the end of the day I have mixed feelings.  I understand that the education system is dealing with high budget cuts, unemployment and homelessness is tearing through the country and the overall outlook of Spain is not good economically.  A day like today does make me thankful for the fact that I have a job here, while so many others do not.  I walked down the trash and litter filled street of principe, which is usually sparkling with joy and excitement from families and friends taking a walk or doing a little shopping.  

Normal day on principe

Today

I couldn't help but think to myself.  Ok, so today you went on strike.  You shut down factories, you cancelled over 700 flights to and from Spain, you ceased public transportation at train and bus stations, you marched through the streets proclaiming your unhappiness with the situation, and then you vandalized shops, blew up dumpsters, started fires in the street and spread trash and litter as far as the eye can see.  Now tomorrow, who is going to pay to replace the dumpsters, windows, atm's, and buildings that were damaged in this event? 

Ladrones = Robbers/Thieves 

While writing this post I also would like to emphasize that not everyone in Spain is participating in these activities.   While many people did participate in the peaceful march through the streets, I believe that only a small percentage of extremist groups are involved in the damaging activities going on.  As one of the teachers at my school stated, "How embarrassing for our country that you have to witness this vandalism."  Fortunately I do understand that there are many views involved in this debate as to how changes should be made, and I am not going to lump or judge the Spanish people.  I am definitely not an expert in foreign economic affairs.  The same types of situations happen in every single country in the world where there are a variety a views about a situation and how to deal with what is happening.  

Tomorrow is another day.