immigration

The Emeritus Professor at the University of Amsterdam and political scientist, Meindert Fennema, spoke with the CNA about the Catalan independence process. According to this recognised expert in populism throughout Europe, the "Catalan process is not populist". Fennema emphasised that the origins of European populism and the Catalan independence movement are rooted in different historical contexts, and pointed out that the two have indisputable differences. One great contrast is that "populism started as an anti-immigrant movement", while "for historical reasons, Catalans have always embraced their immigrants". Moreover, the Catalan attitude towards government and the European Union integration is totally different than those adopted in populist stances, he highlighted. Furthermore he asserted that the claims that the Catalan independence process is a populist movement are false.

The number of Catalans between 15 and 34 who go abroad in search of a "decent" job has increased by 9.24% in the last year, meaning the number of young people living outside Catalonia has increased from 50,640 in 2013, to 55,319 this year, according to a study from the UGT trade union. Between 2009 and 2014, 19,772 youngsters have left Catalonia; a 55.62% increase in 5 years. These statistics were announced in a press conference on Thursday by Afra Blanco, the National Spokesperson for Avalot-Joves section of the UGT in Catalonia. According to Blanco, "the uncertainty, instability, part-time work, underemployment and destruction of jobs" are the factors that have driven young Catalan job-seekers to look for a "respectable life" abroad.

The language skills of Catalonia’s population to understand, read, speak and write in Catalan have reached record highs, according to a report from the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat) with data from 2011. That year, 95.2 % of the residents could understand Catalan, 79.1 % could read it, 73.2 % knew how to speak it, and 55.8 % knew how to write in this language. According to the Idescat figures, the foreign nationality population has registered the highest increases: 82.1 % of them stated they could understand Catalan in the 2011 survey, whereas, according to the previous census from 2001, only 61.1% of the foreign-born population had good language comprehension skills.

At Spanish level, unemployment increased both in monthly and annual terms. Catalonia is the Autonomous Community with the largest annual unemployment drop in absolute terms and the second highest in relative terms. The number of people registered as unemployed in Catalonia at the end of September dropped by 11,546 individuals compared to figures from a year ago, representing a 1.83% annual decrease. However, in monthly terms, registered unemployment increased by 1.51%, with 9,243 more jobseekers. September is a month with a traditional unemployment increase due to the end of summer season contracts. Last September’s unemployment increase was the lowest since 2008.

Following a decade of significant increases in the amount of foreign nationals in Catalonia, it appears that many are beginning to leave as job opportunities dry up. In 2000, the percentage of foreign nationals living in Catalonia was 2.9%, while just over a decade later in 2011 this figure had increased to 15.73%. However, in the past couple of years the amount is beginning to reduce: between 2009 and 2013, 44,000 foreign nationals left Catalonia. According to the Spokesperson of non-governmental organisation SOS Racisme, Jose Peñín, immigrants are leaving as “they have less stable contracts and work in more abusive conditions”.

Young people are increasingly abandoning Catalonia in order to find employment abroad. During the past four years, the amount of Catalans between the ages of 15 and 34 that are working abroad has increased by 42.46%, according to a study released by the youth trade union Avalot. This figure represents an increase of 35,547 in 2009 to 50,640 in 2013 – a rise of 15,093 people. The National Coordinator of Youth Action of Spain’s largest trade union (Comisiones Obreras – CCOO), Aina Vidal, spoke with the CNA and highlighted how this emigration “is by no means a choice”, and that “these are young, highly qualified graduates that are leaving because they have no future here”.

In a globalised world, immigration is a crucial factor to understanding how societies are organised. But there are different kinds of immigration. The most common immigrants are those who come to look for work. They are mostly workers from developing countries that are in a situation of poverty, but others come to do unusual jobs, in which they may earn big money and can leave their mark on local people. Moses Ehambe (Arlington, Texas, 1986) and Troy Devries (Mount Vernon, Washington, 1982) are basketball players for Fiact Joventut de Badalona and La Bruixa d’Or Manresa. Despite being foreigners, they prove that sport stars can adapt to the Catalan way of life.

The ‘Rossinyol’ project aims to improve social problems faced by foreigners such as inequality and social exclusion. It is an adapted version of the ‘Nightingale’ program, consolidated in different European cities, and was brought to Girona due to migratory patterns. The ‘Rossinyol’ project is based on a mentoring network helping the inclusion process of immigrant children. Volunteer university students play a tutorial role for Primary or Secondary school foreign students who are in difficult economic and social situations. In 2006, the project was implemented for the first time both in Catalonia and Spain thanks to the University of Girona. Now the project is applied by different organisations in the province of Barcelona and in Navarra, in the north of Spain.

Xavier García Albiol, the Mayor of Badalona – Catalonia’s third largest city and attached to Barcelona – will go on trial accused of the felonies of provocation of hate, discrimination and violence as well as of collective provocative slander. In 2010, before the last municipal elections, García Albiol distributed leaflets that allegedly related Romanian immigrants to crime. During the electoral campaign, he mostly focused his speech on fighting crime and stopping “illegal immigration”. The campaign created a huge controversy in Catalonia and García Albiol was the most voted-for candidate, although with far from an absolute majority. He became the Mayor of Badalona and for the first time ever the People’s Party obtained the mayorship of one of Catalonia’s top 20 most populated cities.

The decision by Spanish Government to restrict access to the public healthcare system could leave 600,000 people in Catalonia (8% of the population) without primary and specialised medical attention. 180,000 of these people would be foreigners. The Catalan Minister for Health, Boi Ruiz, explained that the measure aims to guarantee the universal access to healthcare to all the population, independent of their legal status, but at the same time avoid healthcare tourism.

The Catalan Government will allow universal access to community health centres, despite the Spanish Government’s decision. Autonomous Communities are those managing the public healthcare system. After announcing that immigrants would not be able to access the service without contributing to the Social Security system, the Spanish Government is now preparing formulas allowing them to continue accessing the public healthcare system if they pay the fee. The Spanish Health, Social Services and Equality has confirmed that foreign people less than 65 years old will pay €710 per year and those older will pay €1,860. Access will be free in emergencies as well as for pregnant women and minors.

The Conca de Barberà County does not want to neglect the high number of immigrants living in Catalonia and is organising Arabic, Chinese, and Wolof language classes with native speakers as a pilot project. Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania and has over 13 million speakers. The courses are designed to focus on the language, although there are aspects of tradition and custom taught in order to enhance the student’s exposure to other cultures.

In the first half of 2012, more than 37,000 inhabitants have left Catalonia taking into account the balance between immigration and emigration. This figure represents half the state total, having lost 74,000 residents. These figures demonstrate that Catalonia is experiencing the highest emigration rate in Spain, which can be attributed to a number of factors including the growing tendency for graduates to seek employment abroad.

There were 630,932 people registered as unemployed with the Catalan Public Employment Service. It is the third consecutive month with an unemployment drop. In Spain, unemployment decreased by 30,113 in May, leaving the total number of people without a job and looking for a new position at 4,714,122. In absolute terms, Catalonia is among the Autonomous Communities where unemployment decreased the most in May.

The death of a Guinean intern in the Immigrant Internment Centre (CIE) in Barcelona last January, plus the recent prohibition by the Spanish Government’s Delegate in Catalonia to allow the Catalan Ombudsman to visit the facilities of the centre, a month ago, has increased the feeling of distrust towards this type of institutions where immigrants without their residence permit are preventively held until they are sent back to their original countries.