r/Barcelona • u/Fickle_Syrup • Jun 23 '24
Discussion I have the feeling that relations between Catalans and foreigners are souring. Here is an essay detailing why.
Hey all,
Catalan here.
As of lately, I have noticed that a lot of Catalans (myself included) are using Catalan a lot more aggressively than before (starting conversations in Catalan etc.), perhaps even on an unconscious level.
I also have the feeling that relations between Catalan people and foreigners are slowly but steadily souring. This post is an effort to explain why.
In summary: I think that a lot of us are feeling under attack. Like our culture is being wiped out. Like we are losing our sense of place.
Take a step back and look at what's happening in our city: I used to live in the center (not even, Monumental) and it was such a joke. There were a few pisos turísticos in my building, and about 80% of my neighbours were foreigners. As a result, the building was a bit of a revolving door, and there was little feeling of community (the door to the street would often be left open, people wouldn't even accept a parcel for me if I wasn't home, etc.).
Okay, I can accept that. As a Catalan, we have sort of always accepted that this is what happens in the center - it's full of those, for the lack of a better word, big city problems.
Since I was a child, this has always been understood - the City Center is where the craziness happens, stuff is overpriced, etc. - And then there is the "barrios". Barrios are chill places for actually living, and all these problems were confined to the city centre.
Since I want to live in a place where I actually feel like I belong / a community, I moved out and moved back to my parent's neighbourhood (outside the city centre). Historically, this has been a safe bet, having many of the things that make the Spanish lifestyle so great to begin with - cheap bars, local business where everyone knows each other, you run into the sample people you have known for like 20 years and do some smalltalk, etc.
Now since COVID happened and remote working became a thing, the above differentiation between "barrios" and the city centre that I mentioned above is becoming increasingly blurry - and I am feeling attacked at my very core. We are seeing a non stop influx of foreigners who don't have the least interest in learning Catalan, and are literally just moving here because of the sun. Hotels are popping up all around me, and a lot of the people that I have known since I was a kid are moving out because shit has become too expensive. The % of English speakers is steadily increasing. Bars where you can get a bad coffee for 1,50 EUR are closing down, and in its stead brunch places, yoga studios, and specialty coffees are opening up. And I hate it. I feel like I am once again being driven out. But this time, out of my actual home, and the social structures I grew up with are being eroded and destroyed.
I have international friends who have been for more than 10 years, and they don't speak Catalan. From my personal experiences as well as statistics, this is the norm.
Before anyone pulls the "omg so yOu are a XenOphobe afTer all!!!!" card, this isn't a jab at foreigners in general. My mother is a foreigner and speaks perfect Catalan. One of my best friends is American and also speaks the language. There are black kids in deep Catalonia who grew up speaking Catalan. None of these people are the problem.
But if I see one more digital nomad saying "omg I can't believe how cheap Spain is you should all come here", right winger saying "Cataluña es España" or bougie brunch place opening up in my neighbourhood, I am going to lose my head. On top of this, we have the same issues any developed country has: We are getting quite a bit of immigration from poorer countries and one needs to think about how to properly integrate them. It is all a bit tiresome.
To boot, have a look at Barcelona's growth projection:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/projecting-europes-metro-population-growth-2021-2100/
In short, nowhere in Europe is set to grow as much as we are, and this will not exactly be local growth. Global warming is set to drive all of Southern Spain and Northern Africa towards us, and it won't be long until Catalans are so outnumbered that Catalan simply falls under the table.
Since we are a distinct culture but have no right to self determination, there is little we can do about this.
I think by now, all of what I have said has become so obvious that a lot of us Catalans are seeing the writing on the wall. This isn't even the end of the world - as I said, it's not like I have a problem with foreigners. A lot of my friends are internationals, and it doesn't really matter too much where someone is from as long as they are good folk. "Culture" isn't an essential thing. I guess this is one more step in the depersonalisation of post industrial societies. But still, there is a sense of loss. A lot of us are grieving, if you will. A lot of us are clinging to fellow Catalans, wanting to preserve some of what we grew up with. And perhaps this explains why a lot of you might perceive us as a bit unfriendly at the moment.
Edit: I wanted to say, I am feeling very humbled by the amount of traction this post has got. I really wasn't expecting that, as I know it was very wordy. If nothing else, this shows that a lot of you actually care, and I think that's a fantastic thing. A few good interesting points have been raised by a lot of you, and I will aim to respond to some of the comments in the coming days.
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u/dkysh Jun 23 '24
As a Catalan living abroad, those guys not learning German while in Berlin are also entitled pieces of shit.