Indipendent of indipendency.

Some people's reading this might ask how an Italian, born in Sardinia and living in Slovakia, has any right to express is opinion on the protests and fights over the so called  referendum of Cataluña. The truth is even after living in Barcelona for five years and still holding business in there, I have always thought of myself as a visitor. But after visiting Andalusia recently I really felt no diference between North and South, which made me think about this need of indipendency in deeper. The truth is I have always hoped for one European country with one government, and I always saw any request of indipendency from Brexit to Padania to IRS a mere  politic act of propaganda, something poor pliticians with lack of  ideas bring up to gain votes with not a clue on the benefits for the population. I am not going to write an annoying article that explains tiny bits of the story without taking any part or action on the issue. I want to be straight: all this talks and action to conquer indipendency are an absolute waste of time and energies!

There has been many countries complaining about their need for indipendency for historic reason, languages and traditions. For one the Sardinian island would be the one that inside Italy better diferenciate itself, and I have recently experienced some serious chat with an Hungarian teacher that proclaims Slovakia to be part of Hungary. An upper level of this would be some today's Romans going to Egypt and proclaiming their rights on the region. What I want to say is that history is history,  life today would not be improved if we went back to what was said twenty, fifty or one thousand years ago.  The core issue in Cataluña has been the  taxation, alias being a net contributor inside the Spanish Kingdom, like Italy and UK are inside Europe. What that means is if taxation is on twenty percent, countries that produce one million Euro will pay two hundred thousand while countries that produce one hundred thousand will pay twenty thousand. There is anything wrong with that? Taxes collected will be then re-distribuited in a solidary principle giving more to the poors and less to the rich to help them to advance.  Should be a basic principle behind any democratic state and something each European citizen should be proud of. However indipendency talk have hit so badly recently, after the financial crisis (crisis in which this principle were completely forgotten) and the corruption scandals that affected all modern democracies including Spain and Cataluña. Hence politicians with no better ideas to win the election, came back with the most stupid and easy idea: INDEPENDENCE.

Do I want to say that Rajoy managed very well the situation? Absolutely not. I think the majority of protesters were there more to prove their right to express an opinion than to be separated from Spain. If I was Rajoy I would have spoke to the Catlans in a clear way:" Dear Spanish fellow, I would like very much to hear your opinion on this matter, however I would also like to remind you that in the case of YES winning you will be on your own, and by this I mean: no more LIGA (Barcelona will play football with any other city in Cataluña), no Euro money supply, no more Spanish bank accounts, no more exports to Spanish cities or with higher taxation, incentives to all Spanish leaving Cataluña, no more energy supply from companies based in other Spanish region. Etc." Would they be ready to queu and vote if they would become an isolated region between Spain and France? I know many Catalans would, simply because of this idiotic idea to be better, stronger, different than the others, but I can tell you it really isn't like it. So another idea would be to send "La Guardia Civil", but instead of stealing the boxes from the voters, they could stand there and laugh at a fantasy uncostitutional referendum. Like doctors in a psychiatric clinic, when they reply to their patient: Bonjour Napoleon, come an ça va? Anything would have been better than this childish talk: we say No no no! And they reply Yes yes yes! And now who knows what will happen?

Once an Irish friend laughed at my crazy idea to have one European country within fifty years: how complicated is to unite one small country (Ireland) imagine to unite many of them? Fine. But what are the options? The real issues that nearly each country in the world will face soon are: immigration, pollution, rise of water level, extreme weather conditions, aging of population and growing of global corporations with more power, money and information than single governments. If any country, big or small, is ready to better tackle these issues thanks to isolation, less inference and power of higher institutions, god have mercy of them and their citizens.

To finish, I just would like to remind everyone that all you hear in Europe is people giving out about their country, their government, their salary, none of us is happy! But we all have Facebook, Google a Tablet and we can freely express our opinion- like me here- and in the end ideas will matter. Ideas cannot be arrested or stopped. A book, a consumer act of choice and a post on facebook can free more people than violence and protests. I am not saying Catalans have been violent but for sure they voted in the Spanish and Catalan elections and I don't think they got the right,  smartest choice, or for sure is wrong to think that indipendency will affect this choice. The only indipendency we should all seek is the one from our national's governments and leaving the European Union manage on bigger needs like, health, defence and education. Having more flatmates activily managing these issues on the European condominium will free us from corruption and speed up on the higher treats that will really affect our lives in the XXI century.

Go raibh maith agat!

It must have been May or June in 2005. I remember it coz it was very warm, International Economy classes are never too busy, however budget cuts allow only one air conditioner per room, and the only place left was very far away from it. Still the lesson was quite interesting and everybody stared at Prof. Pigliaru listing countries examples of economy growth: >.

It is weird now recalling that moment so well as if back than I had already draw my future in here, however the truth is , back than I had no idea. I was fascinated, I am not going to lie to you, I was fascinated by the growth, so high and flourish compared to the desperate 0.01 % of Italy and when you are young you kind of want that worriless future rather than: >

Time goes by and we kind of forget things, so after college, London was the elected place. However London is famous, expensive, there is too many foreigners (Italians), and City people don’t really have time to talk to you . I needed a place that is not all these things? So, here I am studying until I am able to upload my brand new updated English CV online. The recruitment agency called me 20 minutes after the upload : God, that was some good 7% Growth! Pigliaru was right! Delighted, as I would say now, Very happy, as I said back then. But life wasn’t always easy. Fitting into my Irish life implied things like: In the morning face wash is a choice between cold or hot water there is no mix, coffee it always too long and watery, there is no plugs to bring the radio in the bathroom, translate an Italian joke will not make anybody laugh (not for the joke), and your conversation with people will always start with: Where are you from? followed by Oh! Don’t you miss the sun? On the other hand tea is really tasty, and the bus driver will always say: Hi! How are you? Brown bread and milk is fresh and delicious and In any house you go when people will offer you something the first answer must be: No, Thanks. They’ll ask you again. There are four national sports games and the Irish follow all of them with extreme passion, victory and loss will always turn into a party. Weekends are a break from daily boring life and “Enjoy yourself” is the motif. It is plenty of parks and natural beauties and walking or jogging are very common especially in suburbia. Going for one year to Australia it is something like a military service but unlikeMilitary Service everybody enjoys it. When the sun is out foreign people don’t feel like wearing summer clothes (because Ireland is known as a cold country), Irish instead will have an instantaneous BBQ and dress like if they live in the Hawaii. Personally I didn’t mind the weather that much and I was too excited about the job to get worried about what cultural limits I could have. I wanted to fit in at any cost.

COOK IRL was at my eyes something like “the White house” for any president of US the first time they walk in; and it is not just because of the shape of the building also it was my future, a great opportunity but also a challenge:” to stay in I had to prove I am good enough”. I think I managed quite well withthis part and I am very thankful to this company for everything I have learned and I really, really hope I was able to give something back. Still as you probably know the 27th will be my last day in COOK IRL and I personally think after 4 years the real important part of my experience in Ireland is not about the job itself but about the people I have met in this company. It is about the tag rugby team where they couldn’t understand a word of what I said the first year, and they made me Capitan in the third. It is about the same people bonding together and creating a group of friends to hang out with, it is about who gave out to me when I couldn’t say a word properly and forced me to learn, it is about who advised me what to do when my car was broken, it is about 21 invitation for Christmas dinner when my flight was cancelled. It is about who is driving me everywhere lately, who showed me how to pass a rugby ball, who wouldn’t mind waiting for me, who invited me to her wedding who gave me a room to stay, who invited me for Irish stew, who came with me on holidays, who came and visit me when I was sick, who always asks me if I need anything. It is about who was able to trust my abilities and gave me opportunities, it is about managers dancing with me at our Christmas dinner, it is about that rough soccer (don’t go for the ball get the man) that you play in Ireland: So much fun! It is also about the silence you create when O’Gara is kicking, or the devotion you have for the National anthem. It is about who helped me to work on my future and the agreement I get when I give out about Cork!It is about all these people that sometimes I don’t even think, and they don’t even think they touched me so much, but they are the thing that am going miss the most!! To all of you: go raibh maith agat!