45% of Spain’s youth is unemployed and they are angry. They want jobs, housing and ‘real democracy.’ The Egypt like uprising is being seen Spain since May 15th and is predicted to spread across Europe soon. Didn’t we always think Europe has the greatest democracy? But see how the cookie crumbles.
These are relevant times for India, the more their cookie crumble, more we’d come out as the stronger and prosperous nation. That might sound mean but its true. I always feel as a nation we are better off than Europe.
They have no jobs but they have social security. Which means at the end of the month they can go and collect their unemployment benefit. Rest of the time they can just sit around, drink and get wasted. Such life kills creativity.
Human were designed to fight all odds and survive, it is our basic instinct to do something, to create, to grow. How dull that life would be where you have nothing in your hands, yet you don’t have to fight to survive. And that’s exactly why even a poor labourer in India who works hard through the day and comes back in the evening with a handful of income probably sufficient for just a day, he still feels complete as a human for he has satisfied his survival instincts.
He would look at tomorrow with hopes of survival.
Perhaps that is also the reason why India is never going to see a revolution. In spite of the fact that we are plagued by poverty, we have farmers committing suicides, we have the largest number of unborn girl child. What we have still not lost as a nation is hope. We still hope that if only we could replace the corrupt leaders with honest ones, if only we could implement the law and order, if only our systems run they way they were meant to run, we would be the greatest nation on earth with our human resource and talent pool.
Anyway, back to the topic of Spanish Revolution, here are some of the interesting reads from the web.
Islamic nations are comparing this Islamic awakening that spread across Eurpote:
Similar to the spread of Islam to Europe via Spain several centuries ago, the growing waves of awakening seem to be spreading from the Middle-East and North Africa to Europe via the same country, where thousands of Spanish protesters have started rallies since a few days ago.
“This awakening move will certainly advance to the very heart of the Europe and the European nations will rise against their politicians and rulers who have fully surrendered to the US and the Zionists’ cultural and economic policies,”[Source:FARSNews]
BBC reports about the angry Spaniards
“Young people are here because they’re worried about the future. We can’t tolerate it that 43% of the young have no jobs. That should be the first priority of our society”
Mellisa Bell on Washington Post writing regular updates on the situation. The article also has a map of all the protest camps that have been set up and some pictures. (The picture on this post is also obtained from the same article)
In the Irish Media writers are wondering, why a similar revolution is not in the risiing in Ireland, when both Spain and Ireland are facing the exact same economic crisis.
And yet despite the parallels in the economic plights of both countries (overheated property market, youth-concentrated unemployment), sustained and co-ordinated protests, youth-led or otherwise, have yet to take place on the same kind of scale in Ireland. This is much to the dismay of Irish activists, who wish their compatriots were more visibly angry about the extent to which external, unelected bodies have assumed the power to dictate social and economic policy here (via the usual method of debt enslavement). [Source: Irish Times]
A must read article by France 24 Observers on the Feminist angle to the revolution.
When we arrived last week, we unfurled a big banner that read “The Revolution will be a Feminist One”. Pretty soon, a male protester approached us, tore the banner down and began insulting us. He was visibly drunk and rather young, but that’s no excuse for his attitude. The following day, we brought the incident up at the protesters’ general assembly, where we were overwhelmingly supported by participants.
We try to make protesters aware that some of the language and slogans they use are profoundly misogynistic, even if they don’t mean them to be. People tend to call such-and-such politician a “son of a whore”, for example. In response, a group of sex- worker activists began holding posters that read: “Excuse me, but I’m a whore, and I can assure you these politicians are not my sons.”
Finally, check out this beautiful photo story on Flip the Media titled, “Spanish Revolution is Written with a Hashtag” Besides the great pictuers, the article also touches upon role of social media, particularly Twitter hash tag #spanishrevolution in organizing the protests.
Dr Sanjukta Basu 
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