Field Trip to the Raval

On Tuesday April 27th 2010, we took our final field trip to an area of Barcelona called the Raval. One of my favorite aspects of the Barcelona Past and Present class is going on field trips. The reason I enjoy going on these trips so much is that it gives us an opportunity to see places that we would not generally see. The only thing that would make these field trips better would be if they were at the beginning of the semester because it would allow us to know where more places were in Barcelona were for more of my stay. However, I realize that this may be impossible due to the fact that we are only here for four months. Anyways, by walking around in this area, I would have never ever thought that this was a bad area whatsoever. However, prior to the 1992 Olympics, this was a dreadful area where illegal drug trade and underground prostitution took place. But as we talked about in class, the 1992 Olympics brought tons of renovation to Barcelona, and made it into one of the top tourist attractions in all of Europe. With all the revenue and exposure Barcelona would receive, funds came in to completely change the city and clean up many parts that were previously downtrodden; like the Raval. When we were walking around, we saw a group of kids skateboarding. The first thought that popped into my head was that these kids should be in school considering they looked no older than 14 or 15 years old. However, it was entertaining to see one little guy attempt a kickflip off a staircase and land unsuccessfully about 20 times in a row. Who knows though, could that kid be the next big time skateboarder? However, the big picture here is that these kids were free to hang out here worry free, while before the 1992 Olympics that would have been unthinkable because the area was so bad. Although the area is not perfect, and could still use renovations, it is amazing to see learn how far the Raval has come. I am glad we went on this field trip along with the others, because they have allowed me to get a perspective on Barcelona I would not have had otherwise.

The PSOE Spanish encourages victims to report abuses by priests

One national story that I came across regarding Spain was in regard to the PSOE party urging victims who have been abused priests to come out and report such incidences. In Spain, there has been a low incidence of reported abuses by the church. While this should be looked at as a positive for Spain that there is limited pedophilia instances among their church, the PSOE party is worried that in actuality there is a problem has not come to the surface. The main reason that the PSOE is looking into this issue is that there have been hundreds of reported cases throughout other countries across the world. As a result of the PSOE’s worry about potential church abuses, Elena Valenciano, the Secretary of International Policy of the PSOE, has asked the church in Spain to investigate the few cases of abuse that have been reported and to have these cases tried in court. By looking into these cases, Valenciano hopes that they will lead to revealing other cases if they actually are there. Obviously, the PSOE does not want there to be more sexual abuse cases among the church. However, with all of the cases that are being reported throughout the world, it would just be wrong to ignore the potential cases that could be going on in Spain. While it may seem as if they are on a witch hunt and that the Spanish church may actually not have serious problems, I believe it is one hundred percent necessary to look into the problem. Hopefully there is not one, but if the government did not have the diligence to look into a potential issue, then I believe it is an absolute travesty to those who have been wronged by members of the church. This is a very serious issue taking place, and pedophile experiences can be traumatizing for young children and can quite possibly ruin their lives. I believe that the PSOE is doing the right thing in this situation, and hopefully the Church really has done nothing wrong.

Work begins on Sports Center

One local article in El Periodico that caught my interest was an article regarding a recovery of the sports center UE de Horta. While looking at the paper on March 31, this article interested me because I am an avid sports fan and have actually looked for sports facilities throughout Barcelona. This article talks about UE de Horta, which was a sports club that has become essentially obsolete over the years due to lack of upkeep. However, a new remodeling project started just after summertime last year, and a budget of 18 million euros is slotted for the renovation of this downtrodden sports facility. According to the President of the organization in charge of the project, the center had a huge problem with a lack of architectural space. As a result, the project’s main goals will be to construct two swimming pools, a new pavilion, and a gym of 800 square kilometers. The goal of the project is to have the reconstruction of the complex done by 2014. In addition to completely revitalizing a broken down complex, the organization hopes that the renovations will convince old members to rejoin. Because UE de Horta has been such a lackluster complex over the years and had not gotten any improvements until now, over 2,000 members left. By investing over 18 million euros to this project, the organization has shown that they are serious about completely changing the image of the center, and that it will be restored to even greater heights than it was before it became such a mess. I think this is a great development for Barcelona, because it will breath fresh air into a place that used to be a solid sports atmosphere.

International News Story

One of the major international news stories of this year took place was the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash. The article I read was from El Periodico on April 10th, the day after the crash took place. In addition to the death of the President, his wife, several senior members of the Polish government and 96 total individuals were killed in the plane crash. According to the article, fog and low visibility were main contributing factors to the plane crash, as it was less than 300 meters. As a result, the plane collided two kilometers away from the targeted airport runway, landing in the Russian city of Smolensk west of Moscow. While the extreme weather conditions obviously led to the death of all of these individuals, one of the bigger questions is why the plane even took off in the first place. According to the article, the Russians offered drivers as alternatives to flying in such adverse conditions, but the Polish President insisted on flying. This struck me as surprising; if this was President Obama I feel like there would be no way that United States officials would put him in harm’s way if there was the slightest of unusual weather conditions. This was certainly a tragic event as so many lives were lost, but the worst part is that it could have been avoided. I cannot understand why the President felt the need to fly even if driving may have taken much longer. This is an extremely saddening event as so many lives were lost, and hopefully it will lead other nations to proceed with caution. If it indeed was the case that the President forced the issue with such dreadful conditions, this could serve as a reminder to the rest of the world’s leaders that it is unnecessary to put themselves in unnecessary risk.

Field Trip to El Born

One article I found in El Periodico on March 11, 2010 was called “2 Gangs Intimidate the Residents on a Street on El Raval.” The main premise of this article is that on Santcliment Street in El Raval, a group of young teenagers have been controlling the narrow street and threatening the residents who live there and have something to say to them. This area has become a sort of a haven for two groups of teenagers who have used the street to loiter and deal drugs. According to the article, the two groups are made up of both Catalan residents and Maghreb. However, while the two groups both deal drugs, it is the Catalan individuals who provide the biggest problem for the residents. In the article, resident Eduard Elias describes how the problem began on January 23rd, when a woman living in the area was threatened by the ringleader of the gang. Supposedly, the woman asked the young man to finally fix a leak that was the young man’s responsibility to fix, and he responded by threatening the woman and telling her and her husband “to settle it in the street.” Following this interaction, Elias said that the intimidation began to pick up, and that ever since then the gangs have made life miserable for the peaceful residents. Each day the residents are met with menacing and threatening comments when they leave their houses, and have to deal with the groups yelling profanities at them and even spitting on them. There is no way for the peaceful residents of the street to avoid these gangs; the only way for them to reach their homes is to pass by these gang members and face verbal abuse. In addition to these problems, Elias said that the majority of the residents do not know how to handle the situation, and are basically at the mercy of the games. Although the police are aware of the situation, there has been little action in thwarting these gang’s efforts. While the manager of Ciutat Vella said there were significant efforts to help resolve this situation, currently the gangs are still in control of the situation. I thought this was a very worthwhile article because I haven’t really seen any violence or problems during my time in Barcelona. While I have felt very safe throughout my time here, this article opened up my eyes in a sense that there are gang problems in Spain just like in the United States. Luckily, none of these residents have been seriously hurt, but hopefully police efforts step up so any future problems are avoided.

Local news: 2 gangs initmidate the residents on a street in El Raval

One article I found in El Periodico on March 11, 2010 was called “2 Gangs Intimidate the Residents on a Street on El Raval.” The main premise of this article is that on Santcliment Street in El Raval, a group of young teenagers have been controlling the narrow street and threatening the residents who live there and have something to say to them. This area has become a sort of a haven for two groups of teenagers who have used the street to loiter and deal drugs. According to the article, the two groups are made up of both Catalan residents and Maghreb. However, while the two groups both deal drugs, it is the Catalan individuals who provide the biggest problem for the residents. In the article, resident Eduard Elias describes how the problem began on January 23rd, when a woman living in the area was threatened by the ringleader of the gang. Supposedly, the woman asked the young man to finally fix a leak that was the young man’s responsibility to fix, and he responded by threatening the woman and telling her and her husband “to settle it in the street.” Following this interaction, Elias said that the intimidation began to pick up, and that ever since then the gangs have made life miserable for the peaceful residents. Each day the residents are met with menacing and threatening comments when they leave their houses, and have to deal with the groups yelling profanities at them and even spitting on them. There is no way for the peaceful residents of the street to avoid these gangs; the only way for them to reach their homes is to pass by these gang members and face verbal abuse. In addition to these problems, Elias said that the majority of the residents do not know how to handle the situation, and are basically at the mercy of the games. Although the police are aware of the situation, there has been little action in thwarting these gang’s efforts. While the manager of Ciutat Vella said there were significant efforts to help resolve this situation, currently the gangs are still in control of the situation. I thought this was a very worthwhile article because I haven’t really seen any violence or problems during my time in Barcelona. While I have felt very safe throughout my time here, this article opened up my eyes in a sense that there are gang problems in Spain just like in the United States. Luckily, none of these residents have been seriously hurt, but hopefully police efforts step up so any future problems are avoided.

Local news: 2 gangs intimidate the residents on a street in El Raval

One article I found in El Periodico on March 11, 2010 was called “2 Gangs Intimidate the Residents on a Street on El Raval.” The main premise of this article is that on Santcliment Street in El Raval, a group of young teenagers have been controlling the narrow street and threatening the residents who live there and have something to say to them. This area has become a sort of a haven for two groups of teenagers who have used the street to loiter and deal drugs. According to the article, the two groups are made up of both Catalan residents and Maghreb. However, while the two groups both deal drugs, it is the Catalan individuals who provide the biggest problem for the residents. In the article, resident Eduard Elias describes how the problem began on January 23rd, when a woman living in the area was threatened by the ringleader of the gang. Supposedly, the woman asked the young man to finally fix a leak that was the young man’s responsibility to fix, and he responded by threatening the woman and telling her and her husband “to settle it in the street.” Following this interaction, Elias said that the intimidation began to pick up, and that ever since then the gangs have made life miserable for the peaceful residents. Each day the residents are met with menacing and threatening comments when they leave their houses, and have to deal with the groups yelling profanities at them and even spitting on them. There is no way for the peaceful residents of the street to avoid these gangs; the only way for them to reach their homes is to pass by these gang members and face verbal abuse. In addition to these problems, Elias said that the majority of the residents do not know how to handle the situation, and are basically at the mercy of the games. Although the police are aware of the situation, there has been little action in thwarting these gang’s efforts. While the manager of Ciutat Vella said there were significant efforts to help resolve this situation, currently the gangs are still in control of the situation. I thought this was a very worthwhile article because I haven’t really seen any violence or problems during my time in Barcelona. While I have felt very safe throughout my time here, this article opened up my eyes in a sense that there are gang problems in Spain just like in the United States. Luckily, none of these residents have been seriously hurt, but hopefully police efforts step up so any future problems are avoided.