A recent Government CEO survey showed that one in four Catalans could be termed racist depending on which newspaper you buy for your news. Different papers looked at the stats in a half-empty- glass way but others in a half-full way. Immigration is emotive in Catalunya since many residents believe that much of the street crime is the work of immigrants - and not much is done about it.
According to the results of the survey, people felt positive about immigrants in some respects: they felt that if they had been laid off work they should get unemployment benefit, they should be allowed to keep their customs and traditions (as long as they didn't wear the burka!); they also felt they should be allowed to vote. However certain issues were red-rag status to residents - particularly health and education; many felt immigrants overused the public health service and filled the schools; that the authorities bent over backwards to help them, even depriving native parents' preferences in some areas, in terms of work, people strongly felt that immigrants kept wages low as they were prepared to work for peanuts - some even went as far as saying that immigrants were taking Catalans' jobs.
Sometimes public opinion surveys do more harm than good, especially when newspapers get hold of them and distort the findings for political ends. Clearly however, all is not well on the immigrant front (in a previous blog I mentioned one flagrantly racist politician from Vic who was putting up for election in the government) and there is a lot of rancour out there, clearly expressed in the high percentage of respondents who felt that the city has too many immigrants. It might be interesting to compare Barcelona's with other cities' attitudes though. And to look at things from the immigrants' side too. Will they get the chance to express their feelings publically about living here in surveys like this? Can we also come up with a definition of 'immigrant' too. To some Catalans I've spoken to if you come from Marbella or Cadiz you're classed as one!
Showing posts with label Catalans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catalans. Show all posts
Monday, 21 March 2011
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Speed limits around Barcelona: a change of heart.
All change on the roads! The new CiU government as by a grinning Arturo Mas has followed up on its electoral promise of doing away with previous tripartite government's sensible 80 kph limit on approach roads into BCN. From March 1st, speed will only be enforced in intense traffic conditions and on roads which join urban 50 kph areas.
The 80 limit was unpopular and bitterly contested by the motorist lobby - mainly by those who insist on driving into work instead of using public transport -and since you might ask, neither car-sharing nor Park-and-Drive are preferred options here. Removal of the limit does seems a bit odd though, especially as the rest of Europe is solidly sold on reducing speed in large conurbations to lower the amount of contamination and accidents. Sound sense. But not in Catalunya, where drivers prefer a head-in-the sand attitude and a you-can't -tell-us-what-to-do approach to life. (It's not as if Franco had blanketed the country with a speed limit like he did with a Catalan language ban is it?) In other parts of Europe you might use epithets like 'stubborn', 'obtuse or 'selfish' to describe such an attitude. Just like opposition to limits on drivers drinking alcohol, or people smoking in a bar. It seems that as soon as you start putting limits on Catalan behaviour - of any kind - sparks start to fly.
Councillor Puig, who has the dubious honour of lifting the 80 limit, flies in the face of all logical argument. His reported arguments deny all scientific research about the amount of pollution that will be produced and he refutes well-documented research showing accidents increase with speed. He knows there isn't enough money around in this cost-cutting government to put up adequate digital signing to inform motorists about speed variations. Instead he insists that common sense will prevail!! In Catalunya on the roads? Does he work from home all the week? Give me a break! Putting Catalans at the wheel of a car is like giving them a lobotomy.
On the other hand all is not bad! DGT, the pan-Spain traffic organisation, have decided to lower the fining tolerance level on motorways from 138 to 135 kph to cut down on accidents. Thus if you are driving at 135 (15 over the limit you now will get fined. Plus100 more radar cameras will be installed to catch speeding motorists. Maybe the people at DGT read the right journals?
The 80 limit was unpopular and bitterly contested by the motorist lobby - mainly by those who insist on driving into work instead of using public transport -and since you might ask, neither car-sharing nor Park-and-Drive are preferred options here. Removal of the limit does seems a bit odd though, especially as the rest of Europe is solidly sold on reducing speed in large conurbations to lower the amount of contamination and accidents. Sound sense. But not in Catalunya, where drivers prefer a head-in-the sand attitude and a you-can't -tell-us-what-to-do approach to life. (It's not as if Franco had blanketed the country with a speed limit like he did with a Catalan language ban is it?) In other parts of Europe you might use epithets like 'stubborn', 'obtuse or 'selfish' to describe such an attitude. Just like opposition to limits on drivers drinking alcohol, or people smoking in a bar. It seems that as soon as you start putting limits on Catalan behaviour - of any kind - sparks start to fly.
Councillor Puig, who has the dubious honour of lifting the 80 limit, flies in the face of all logical argument. His reported arguments deny all scientific research about the amount of pollution that will be produced and he refutes well-documented research showing accidents increase with speed. He knows there isn't enough money around in this cost-cutting government to put up adequate digital signing to inform motorists about speed variations. Instead he insists that common sense will prevail!! In Catalunya on the roads? Does he work from home all the week? Give me a break! Putting Catalans at the wheel of a car is like giving them a lobotomy.
On the other hand all is not bad! DGT, the pan-Spain traffic organisation, have decided to lower the fining tolerance level on motorways from 138 to 135 kph to cut down on accidents. Thus if you are driving at 135 (15 over the limit you now will get fined. Plus100 more radar cameras will be installed to catch speeding motorists. Maybe the people at DGT read the right journals?
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