Optimists say we are not afraid
but I am.
And people usually say I am an optimist.
What’s wrong with me now?
Why do I feel so much
Fear, Sadness and Uncertainty?
Why can’t I get a sufficient dose of
Calmness, Serenity and Confidence?
Yet this fear of mine
does not keep me paralyzed
for I know we must move on.
This is a human rights issue,
a fight for social justice,
just one more in our world.
And while some say Dialogue, Dialogue
some others say what dialogue
if one of the parts always refuses it?
We need international mediation.
Urgently.
But that part does not want it.
So what is left to do
for the Spanish-Catalan eternal conflict?
Where’s the lesser evil
after the October First events?
What do you tell the 1066 injured people?
What do you tell the man who lost his eyesight
because of a rubber bullet from the police?
How do you comfort all those
who made the vote possible?
who made everything peacefully and democratically?
Tomorrow Catalonia’s president will most probably
declare independence from Spain.
It will be like you’re in a room
with some people trying to chase you,
loaded with guns.
But you’re peaceful
and do not have guns
and see an open window.
So you need to jump down
before they arrest you,
before they kill the rights
you’ve been long fighting for.
The lesser evil is throwing yourself
out of that window.
Is it a desperate suicide?
Or is there someone below
who will come to rescue,
who will get you in their arms
before you crash into the ground
when tomorrow comes?
© October 2017 Marta Pombo Sallés
This is a video that shows the brutality the Spanish police forces used during the vote of October 1. Many international people and organisations have already condemned this violence against a peaceful population:
Very sad and disappointing. I did see this in the news.
Well done by you.
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Thank you, Jamie. From now on and after yesterday’s suspended declaration of independence I am afraid Catalonia’s people will be suffering increasing oppression from Spain’s central government unless international mediation soon appears from the EU or whomever. We must keep peaceful and resilient.
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Bravo! we keep close watch as events unfold. here in Catalunya Nord, our newspaper (L’Independent!) tells us thst lodging for exiled Catalan government is being secretly arranged here. tension mounts as we hope for peace. the legacy of the Retirada of 1939 is still alive!
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Thank you so much for your support. We will see what happens in the next hours and days.
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Wow this resonates even now! Such a poignant expression of how you feel. Well done!
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Thank you, Elle. Your words are very encouraging!
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This is a difficult topic to address. There are many angles to come from and you have managed to encompass as many emotions and hurdles. I like the dilemma and stuckness that seems to be the common thread weaving the poem. I am struck by this part: It will be like you’re in a room
with some people trying to chase you,
loaded with guns.
But you’re peaceful
It is a really good way to put a point without taking sides. At least it is how I see it. I like, how after them lines, you go on a domino effect and it tickles down to the endless questions….silent voices. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🌋
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I like the way you perceive this poem, that I “put a point without taking sides” and the “domino effect”. 🌈☀️ 😊
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It is a human rights issue. Unfortunately we live in a world that doesn’t respect your right to choose.
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Exactly, that’s it! But we will continue our nonviolent civil resistance movement:
https://momentsbloc.wordpress.com/2018/06/19/non-violence-suceeds/
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And you’ll have my support.
Thanks for the link.
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You are very welcome, Bojana. Love your writing. So glad I have come across you through Susan Richardson.
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Welcome.
Poetry is experimenting. I’m primarily a prose writter. If you wanna read what really happened to and in Yugoslavia, the war and aftermath, I could drop u a few links.
Thanks again. Networking in such a powerful thing.
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Yes, I’d love to read about it. Send me the links, please!
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Here you go. Knock yourself out…in this very order.
There will be more as of late Sept/Oct.
Thanks for your interest. Much appreciated.
https://moralitypark.wordpress.com/2018/05/26/the-marriage-of-heaven-and-hell/
https://moralitypark.wordpress.com/2018/06/03/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
https://moralitypark.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/welcome-to-absurdistan/
https://moralitypark.wordpress.com/2018/06/16/years-of-living-dangerously/
https://moralitypark.wordpress.com/2018/05/22/introducing-bojana-stojcic-the-sound-and-the-fury/
https://moralitypark.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/noise-in-fashion/
https://moralitypark.wordpress.com/2018/06/13/sleepwalking-the-minefield/
https://moralitypark.wordpress.com/2018/06/26/putting-out-the-fire-with-gasoline-or-did-you-call-moi-a-dipshit-bojana-stojcic/
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Will get to this ASAP. Thank you.
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Welcome. I hope you enjoy.
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