Pro-independence thoughts

First of all, I am going to introduce myself as a Catalan citizen in favor of Catalonia's independence. What do I mean by this? Well, my struggle is the same as that of thousands and millions of people, Catalan or not, who strongly desire to live in a country they feel as their own. A democratic country where nobody looks down on them or rejects them just because they ask for what they need.

The desire to see a free Catalonia, recognized all over the world, with its own unique language, with a government able to decide our own laws based on the needs of our people, while respecting international laws, should be accepted by everyone.

A country where everybody is respected and is able to feel integrated regardless of their origin. A country where everybody respects others' thoughts and ideas. A country where newcomers settle down and embrace a new culture, a new language and new traditions as their own.

Some people think that having pro-Catalan feelings, or even pro-independence leanings, makes you despicable because, according to them, you are damaging Spain's history by disintegrating their beloved state. However, they forget that Spain itself has done lots of damage to our country before, and taken away our identity. Wouldn’t we be more united once we were independent? Catalonia could be a friend as a sister nation to Spain, indeed as already is to many other countries in the world. But Spain's actions keep us imprisoned in a country we don’t feel as our own. These actions take away any reason we Catalans have to care for Spain, or to regard their language as an asset. The Spanish language has been imposed on us. We Catalans may convince ourselves about the richness of our bilingual society. However, Spain only wants to speak Spanish. All these actions cause animosity between two cultures that could help each other.

There have been times when I've tried to come up with a way to define our language, Catalan. I believe that if you combine a bit of common sense, a bit of generosity, with our identity, history, and way of speaking, you get Catalan.

Jordi Segura
@jordisegura_cat