The power of the people
Last week, the arrest of the crew of the flotilla arriving in Gaza with humanitarian aid from the Israeli government was the spark that lit all the fires. All over Europe, where there had been demonstrations of rejection of the genocide committed by the Netanyahu government for weeks, people took to the streets following the impulse that arises within each of them, and this is how large collective demonstrations usually arise.
In Barcelona, as on other occasions, there have been the most spectacular mobilizations. The one on Thursday, October 2nd, was made possible thanks to this impulsive reaction of the people, which is genuine and powerful: when injustice rebels against you and you can no longer stay home.
Since it was October 2nd, the images of the screaming crowd, the energy they gave off, made me think of October 1st. The day before, the news had commemorated its eighth anniversary by re-showing scenes from that long, difficult, and glorious day.
From this mix of emotions, two reflections emerged, one negative and one positive. The negative one, and one repeated every October since 2017, is the lacerating pain of knowing that all that collective strength, of an extraordinary power that we still don't know how to properly value, was wasted. I don't know if anything remains; it probably has left a mark that I can't see right now. But in any case, it was a missed opportunity, not sure if it was enough to achieve independence, but certainly to give people the opportunity to believe in their strength (as the poet said). In the autumn of 1917, the disappointment was monumental, in proportion to the magnitude of the struggle waged in previous years. Many of us who lived intensely through October 1st and 3rd are now burdened by this frustration when the time comes to take to the streets again, even though the cause is as indisputable as the genocide of the people of Gaza.
The positive or hopeful reflection is that throughout Catalonia there are still many people with the necessary drive to ignite the mobilizations. At Saturday's large demonstration, there were surely many men and women demanding the freedom of Palestine who defended Catalonia's freedom on October 1st, many people with exemplary fortitude. And there are also many young people, many, who in 1917 were children. Youth, therefore, has a strength and impetus for struggle that never runs out, that sprouts again with each new generation.
Faced with the political drift the world is taking, all we can do is believe in the strength of the people. We must take to the streets, strike, invent new forms of protest, because we have and will have many reasons to protest. From domestic issues: housing, commuter rail, underfunding, language, to global issues: freedom of expression, anti-racism, feminism, peace.
And please, let's reread the poets: people don't realize the power they have. And let's remember that only people who honor their poets deserve a better future.