la liberté avant tout
By Yaël Ossowski In Scotland’s 2014 referendum, what I really learned is that a successful independence movement must be cultural and all-encompassing. A minority language helps. For many years, that’s what Québec had. But entrenched politicians (at the federal and provincial levels) began to change the terms of independence and what it would mean for…
In scenes straight from a 1984-esque dystopian thriller, armed policemen from the Spanish Guardia Civil descended into the streets of the Catalonian region over the weekend to halt a planned referendum for independence. Clubs were whirled in the air, polling stations demolished, and voters shoved to the ground. At last count, more than 1,300 people…
Laisser la souveraineté territoriale à la politique est une grave erreur Le 11 septembre dernier, la fête nationale de la Catalogne, environ 1,6 millions de Catalans se sont donné la main pour former une chaîne humaine à travers le vaste territoire qu’ils réclament comme étant le leur. Des Catalans se donnent les mains pour promouvoir…
Leaving National Secession to Politics Alone Is a Mistake On September 11, the National Day of Catalonia, an estimated 1.6 million Catalans joined hands across the vast territory they’d like to call their own. Catalans link hands to rally for independence on the National Day for Catalonia. Dubbed the “Catalan Way,” the idea was to…
By Yaël Ossowski | The Stateless Man “Catalunya no és Espanya.” More than just a slogan, it’s become a rallying cry for the nearly 7.5 million Catalans who wish to demonstrate to the world that their culture, history, and language are far removed from the traditional concept of Spain. As a recent visitor to the city of…