May 21 2011
Spanish Embassy in London
Belgrave Square
SW1X 8SB London

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Hundreds of people met at the Spanish Embassy in London to support the big demonstrations that are currently going on all over Spain since last week. May 21st is “reflection” day in Spain and it’s banned by law to demonstrate and campaign the day before the elections. Nevertheless, thousands of people took over the streets defying Spanish authorities.

Puerta del Sol in Madrid and Plaza Catalunya in Barcelona amongst other squares are hosting lots of people who are protesting against the system. They are not against the system itself, they are against the current corrupted system that rules Spain. They have very different demands, but are united in oposing the government.

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More than 500 people attended the open assembly in London and around 50 people have been camping in front of the Spanish Embassy since last Thursday. The protesters are mainly Spanish, but many other nationalities such as Polish and Italians joined the protest. Real Democracy London is in contact with Puerta del Sol in Madrid and the people are organised in different groups to attend the different necessities of those who want to participate actively in the protests.

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They have open assemblies daily around 7pm and there is also an open debate for those who want to share ideas, concerns or just make suggestions. Lots of ideas were shared in the afternoon of May 21st and many people intervened in the debate giving different perspectives of the problem that Spain is facing currently. All the protesters agree in how Spain is currently failing in providing even the essential necessities such as affordable housing, decent jobs and decent pay. The majority thinks that the system needs a radical change.

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Everybody is listening to everyone’s opinions and they are slowly moving forward towards a Manifiesto that gathers tha main concerns of the Spanish residents in London. Most of these concerns discussed in Belgrave Square in London are shared with the other demonstrators in Madrid, Barcelona and many other cities across Spain.

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The protesters are peaceful and organised. They demand a change of the system and they accuse the political and economical power for the precarious situation. With more than 5 million unemployed and a significant number of corrupted politicians, Spain is facing one of the biggest crisis seen since the Spanish democracy was formed in 1975. Change is a must.

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They are dissapointed. They are tired. They are angry. They think that it is enough. The people are sick of the situation and they don’t see themselves being represented by either of the existing political parties. They say it loud and clear. There is no real democracy when there is not a real choice.

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The situation is hard, their dissapointment is big, but they say that they won’t give up.

On Saturday afternoon the protesters camping in Puerta del Sol in Madrid agreed they would camp out for at least another week. The protests spread beyond Spanish borders and many other European cities are now finding their squares filling with dissapointed crowds of people. Cities like Berlin, London and Rome are joining the Spanish Revolution.

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The afternoon is the busiest moment of the day, when the assemblies take part at 7pm. After the debates some Spanish residents in London are staying over the night. Over 50 people have been camping since Saturday evening and, as in many other cities of Spain, they say that they will be staying even after the elections. During the debate, one of the organisers thanked the people who attended the demonstration for their donations used to buy water, food and other essentials for the protesters.

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The people camping over the night at Belgrave Square are majority young students and workers is a gesture of solidarity and support of their Spanish colleagues in Puerta del Sol in Madrid and Plaza de Catalunya in Barcelona.

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Belgrave Square has been decorated since Thursday with defiant banners, slogans, drawings and posters with the ideas shared by the protesters. These are some of the messages that were dressing the Square last Saturday.

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Chorizo means thief in slang.

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Many of the Spanish residents in London feel identified with the situation of their country and most of them emigrated to England due to the lack of work in Spain. As the banner states below, this girl chose to be away from eveything she loves for a job.

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“They don’t represent us” or “If you don’t let us dream, we won’t let you sleep” are some of the most popular slogans in the squares of Spain, where people call themselves indignados, which means indignant.

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Check the Real Democracy London website for more information about what is being discussed in the assemblies, who are taking active part in them and how many people is still camping in Belgrave Square.

http://realdemocracylondon.blogspot.com/

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To have more information about Democracia Real Ya based in Puerta del Sol in Madrid check the website and get the latest updates:

http://www.democraciarealya.es/

Another interesting website covering the demosntrations across Spain and Europe:

http://periodismohumano.com/

To see more pictures of the 21st May Demo check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blogmoreiras/

Photos and Text © Marta Moreiras