Widows Of The 25th

Every city in the world has it's own characteristics, manifested in it's tradition, custom, culture, or whatever other aspects. One rather unusual city scene, I would say unique, is that on the day 25th of every month, there would be a gathering of widows in the Plaza (Square) of Sant Jaume, in the centre of Barcelona. They have been doing this for the last 12 years, with the number continuously and gradually increasing. They are there seen by all but they might as well be invisible. No one ever shows the slightest gesture of empathy and, after such long years, not even curiosity any more.

Most of these women there are of middle or old age, battling with no more weapon than their stubborn insistence, against injustice of being systematically ignored by the public service authorities, of their precarious financial situation and lack of adequate assistance, and their cry silenced by the indifference of the government and it's politics.

I never knew about this until recently when a local press published a report of it, giving voice and visibility to this reality of a social problem. 3 of every 10 widows (300,000 in Catalunya and 800,000 in all Spain) are at the threshold of extreme poverty and social exclusion.

I wonder why it took 12 years before just one newspaper decided to bring the situation to
light??

Tags:poverty,widows

Current Mood: Anxious