It was 13 of november of 2002, it was the greatest environmental catastrophe in the history of Spain. The Prestige, a Liberian
ship
flying the Bahamian flag,
ran aground in Galician waters off the Costa da Morte, 77,000 tons of fuel began to come off. On 19 of november of 2002, the ship split in two and sank 242 km from Fisterra (A Coruña).
On 20 of november of 2002 the oil slick reached the Galician beaches and the inhabitants of the area themselves, mariñeiros and fishermen
began to clean on their own the famous viscous liquid that ended up being called
"chapapote".
On 23 of november of 2002, Mr. Rajoy, who was part of Mr. Aznar's government,
declared that "it is not in any case a black tide, it is only about very localized spots".
On 29 of november of 2002 the situation was according to this video
the following:
At that time a phenomenon seldom seen in Spain was unleashed, and let us remember that at this time there were no social networks or free messaging platforms to massively convene, word of mouth, phone calls and SMS only were used.
Spontaneously, people from all over Spain and the world, without prior organization, decided that they had the need to go there and do their bit and help in a catastrophe that the government
practically ignored at that time.
On 06 of december of 2002, according to the news,
more than 10,000 volunteers of all kinds and places went to Galicia to help with cleaning tasks, but
the following days it was more and more, there is talk of
more than 300,000 volunteers who arrived in Galicia in those later weeks. There was a time when the authorities had to request that people stop coming to help, because since they had their shifts covered ...
This is called, ladies and gentleman,
Solidarity of Citizenship, this is called
Empathy, this is called
Love for the Earth that we feel as part of us and our ancestors, because of that wealth by which we all feel united, and that exceeds the concept of nation, or strictly delimited geographical areas. Rather,
it is moved by the pain produced by being a spectator of an injustice in which something is not being treated correctly by whoever should be, to solve it as soon as possible and with the least possible damage.
I leave you the following
video of the Eitb that
perfectly
reflects the determination of the people in those times:
We want to give
all our support to the demonstration on February 20 in Santiago de Compostela, which begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Railway Station,
and appeal to the feeling of the Prestige Catastrophe, that feeling of Solidarity, Empathy and Humanity is more necessary than ever.
This demonstration
is
very important and we invite people who are wondering whether to go and overcome their fears and take the step.
The Law must be complied with in the same way that Constitutional Rights are to be used, if they are not well maintained and fall into disuse, they rust and weaken.
We must all take care of them. Never before in constitutional history have we had a similar challenge.
The protocols of the Asian giant are beginning to be absorbed as their own in Spain and other EU countries ... Knock Knock,
shouldn't a change in the political regime be the reason for Referendum? Surely citizens would be delighted to participate in this Referendum, but
trying to do it like that on the side ... it seems like a regrettable return to Great Errors of the Past ...
We must remember in this regard that the
State of Alarm does not eliminate the constitutional rights that we have. Yes, the State of Exception or of Siege can do so, a situation in which we are not. Therefore, according to article 116 of the Spanish Constitution and according to its Organic Law 4/1981
during the State of Alarm, it is possible to "limit the movement or stay of people or vehicles at specific times and places, or condition them to fulfill certain requirements",
this
does not mean that
the constitutional Right to Freedom of Movement is not in force (art. 19). In the same way,
the Right of Assembly and Demonstration remain in force in the terms established in art. 21 of the Constitution.
I leave you the
links to these documents, which we consider interesting to have at hand:
Article 16 of the Spanish Constitution: https://www.laconstitucion.es/articulo-116-de-la-constitucion-espanola.html
Organic Law 4/1981, of June 1, on the states of alarm, exception and site: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1981-12774
The Spanish Constitution: https://boe.es/legislacion/documentos/ConstitucionCASTELLANO.pdf
If we have doubts about whether or not we have to go to this demonstration, we should start thinking about what has happened in the last 19-20 years so that we have lost all our solidarity, strength and empathy for our fellow men, for the defense of the common, because we cannot remain passive while they curtail our rights and freedoms based on a virus with a lethality of less than 0.5%, we must get out of the state of shock in which they have put us,
and simply based on it, go to the demonstration,
because it is not reasonable that in this short period of time
we have changed so much, something must be affecting us if we assume that our Human Rights and Constitutional Freedoms are not paramount.
From what little more needs to be said, it is possibly the most important Manifestation in our
constitutional history, the fact that sometimes citizens have to demonstrate peacefully, but actively every day, to correct the wrong course by which they sometimes they take us, or take them to our politicians, it
is a lesson that must be re-learned, internalized, remembered, and taught to future generations.
This means that there is a balance of justice in society
as well as a better Democracy, let us remember that each Democracy is a reflection of its citizens. It's time to be demanding and improve ours, which is sad lately.
That is why today 20 of Februry o f2021 WE ARE ALL GALICIA, in the same way that we are and will be for ALL THE COMMUNITIES AND AUTONOMOUS CITIES OF THE SPANISH TERRITORY, EUROPE AND THE WORLD.
Do not let the excuse of the death of our elders change everything our elders had fought for.
It is not fair to them, nor to us, nor to future generations. Courage and see you in Santiago de Compostela.
NO TO THE AUSCHWIZT LAW!
