Supporting Spain

Today I had the chance to talk to one of my very close friends from Spain. She spoke of the crisis that has recently struck Europe. It seems to have hit Spain particularly hard. My friend told me she was forced to move to a new region of Spain, about 5 hours away from her family, just to find a job that provides only 17 hours of work per week.

She reiterated the point that this was a common case all throughout Spain. People are fed up with the way things are run. These people are unable to find jobs, which makes it hard to survive. I know of some people who are quick to say, "well the Spanish are only lazy. They don't want to work." I just want to make it clear that this is not the case at all. These people are trying to find work. They are more than willing to work, the problem comes from a failing economy and the corruption found in the government.

The job crisis is a problem here in the United States as well! Many of the Republican candidates for president have the idea that these jobless Americans are just too lazy, and just want to draw money from welfare. This, once again, is a case of ignorance. If there were jobs available, many of these people without jobs would be willing to work. 

The economic crisis echoes throughout the world we live in. This is why so many people are taking to the streets to make their opinions known. I am in agreement with my friend that more people need to take courage and stand by their beliefs. She said to me, "it is sad that we are willing to do so much for soccer, but willing to do so little for our rights." I agree with this 100%. It is time that everyone takes a stand to be heard. The only problem to be found with this is the police retaliation. Many times the police are harsh when people are only trying to peacefully demonstrate. My friend sent me this picture of a demonstrator in her previous home:

This scene reminds me of one of the pictures found in Goya's Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War). It is called No se Puede Mirar (One Cannot Look at This):

 

This is a common scene in many of these demonstrations. People only want to survive. That is why these people are going out and letting their government know how they feel. Is this not the true spirit of democracy? 

My main reason of posting this is to raise awareness of what is going on in the world. I would like to show my support of these people who are being wrongly treated by a corrupt government. I support the Spanish people and the peace they are trying to bring into their lives!