The person that defined Gibraltar this way was not a Spanish nationalist, an ardent defender of the recovery of the sacred Spanish sovereignty over Gibraltar (or The Rock, as they call it). He could have been, but he wasn´t. The person that defined Gibraltar as a Pirate Ship was a student from Gibraltar, a long time ago. I was one of those guys who could study a few months abroad thanks to the Erasmus grant (it permits university students to study a year abroad and learn a foreign language); this is the grant criminals now in power want to also eliminate. Thanks to the Erasmus grant I am not a complete ignorant. When I arrived in London I didn´t even know how to say thank you, thanks to useless English classes the Spanish school system gives you. I had never flown on an airplane and had hardly gone abroad. I arrived at night to Victoria Station and I was terrified and pinching myself to make sure that it was real. Manolo from Alicante was in London.
I ended up at a University in the south of London called Kingston University. Apparently, it had some prestige in engineering. But of course not in Law, and I came from the University of Alicante (where it was easier to get to talk to the minister of education than your teacher, if he/she had the courtesy of appearing in class) and Harvard Kingston University, for some unknown reason, at the time was full of Gibraltarian students. So I tried to make friends with them. I made one pretty good friend, but I will not say his name because I still have hopes he will become Prime Minister. I was alone and the rest of the Spanish students were posh students from Algorta and its surroundings who did not want to deal with poor people from the Mediterranean. Gibraltarians speak Spanish (though sometimes they act like they only speak it a bit) and I was also willing to say amen to everything, give up the Spanish sovereignty of Gibraltar and as an offer, give them Gran Canaria and Tenerife with no shipping costs, all in exchange for some company.
On the other hand, I wanted to know a different version of the conflict, other than the official Spanish version. They told me this delightful story of self-determination referendum. Four crazy people voted in favor of annexation to Spain, or were they paid three pints to hide it?, and their neighbors put their bags in the border fence: touching. Actually, I soaked up much of the problem.
I´ll save you the historical and legal details, which are well known and can be interpreted at will, as it is indeed done.
The way the Gibraltarians twist it is touching, but I will not be the one to criticize it. Gibraltarians are as British as paella. Of course they are not Spanish, but there is a doubt that they can´t be considered Andalusian. Physically The Rock is a setting that mimics what was once an English village decorated with monkeys. In the ship's hold there is a network of money laundering, tax haven and a refuge for people with strange fur.
For the British, Gibraltar is a good excuse to baptize hundreds of pubs throughout the islands. In any of “The Rocks" you can enjoy a good "bitter" and rant against Chelsea. Most of the Spanish whose socks don´t smell, care about Gibraltar's future as much as Elche´s football team strikers’ shoe size, with the obvious exception of the people of the Campo de Gibraltar.
The pirate ship wants to continue navigating. But how do you do it with sharks? Meanwhile the fishermen and the environment pay the rum.
El humor está aquí, en alguna parte
Translation by Amanda Perri
Enjoyable blog... viva Gibraltar or is it really Chelsea on Sea
ResponderEliminarCan someone ask them what they will do with Gibraltar if they ever got it back! They can't manage the surrounding towns and now even themselves as a whole they are in complete dire straits and those in Central are purely diverting attention to remove the heat of theIr inactions to sort out their country and rising unemployment and debt. Not forgetting the recent scandals which have made headline. Reckon we should knock this one on the head once and for all let us go to the International courts and UN whatever is required to settle the issue. I reckon the 30,000 are more than willing to put an end to the saga and stop the continuous harassment of a so called democratic EU member that has only sucked millions out of the EU and continue use the EU as they safeguard for everything and only impose undemocratic measures on those which comply with all EU regulations despite not been full members and continuously vetoed as result Spain has no gain out of it. Enough the 30,000 will not stand idle please don't underestimate!
ResponderEliminarritain is facing the prospect of being taken on by a joint Spanish and Argentine campaign over the disputed territories of Gibraltar and the Falklands.
ResponderEliminarSpain may take its row over Gibraltar to the United Nations, according to reports in Spanish newspaper El Pais.
According to the paper, the country's foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo is scheduled to travel to Buenos Aires to meet his Argentinian counterpart, Hector Timerman, next month.
During this meeting, the paper says, Spain will also explore the possibility with Argentina of a "united front" at the UN, concerning Gibraltar and the Falklands.
Argentina is immersed in its own dispute with Britain over the sovereignty of the Falklands, which Britain has ruled since 1833.
It recently lodged a new claim over the islands to the UN Security Council, of which Britain is a permanent member.
Argentina is on a two-year term as non-permanent member of the UN's Security Council and could potentially use its position to include discussions over Gibraltar on the agenda.
The newspaper's sources do not specify whether Spain will ask the UN to back a request for Britain to give up sovereignty of the territory, or adhere to certain agreements.
Aside from the Security Council, Spain could also take its matter to the UN General Assembly or the International Court of Justice.
Centuries of friction over the Rock - a British overseas territory to which Spain lays claim - have reignited following delays and queues of several hours at the outpost's border with Spain, and Madrid's threats to impose a 50 euro (£43.30) fee on every vehicle entering or leaving Gibraltar.
Madrid has also complained that an artificial reef being built by Gibraltar into the Mediterranean will block its fishing vessels.
The reported change of tack by Spain could further increase diplomatic tensions.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said that Spain will take "all necessary measures" to defend its interests in Gibraltar.
His comments this week came as Britain sent warship HMS Westminster and two other vessels to the British territory, which the Ministry of Defence said was part of a "long-planned" training exercise.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Our policy on Gibraltar at the United Nations has not changed and is consistent with our policies on other Overseas Territories. Self determination matters more than territorial integrity.
"The people of Gibraltar have repeatedly and overwhelmingly expressed their wish to remain under British sovereignty.
"The UK's position is entirely consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations, which include the principle of self determination."
So the Spanish feel the need to be in alliance with Argentina what the fuck for? The Falklands and Gibraltar have so much in common do they? so much that Spain needs Argentine back up.. are you afraid to fight alone? Please do not start something that you clearly are not able to finish alone.
EliminarGibraltar is a parasite, what their neighbour want is for them to stop sucking their blood and to abide by the law. Oh, stopping pulliting the Straight with illegal practices would also help.
ResponderEliminarNot a bad way to promote your eloquent blog ... but then what is your point ? "British as Paella" (or Gazpacho) is to say that they are not because Paella is Spanish ? But then neither Paella no Gazpacho are Spanish at least in respect of the timeline relevant to the question in point. Paella was not, I understand, popularised through Spain until the 19th C from a regional dish representative of Valencia and Gazpacho similarly originates from the days when Islam ruled and was adopted by Andalusia but only popularised throughout Spain in - yes, you guessed, the 19th Century. Gibraltar was savouring Andalusian Gazpacho, Valencian Paella & other British dishes well before such Spanish popularisation.
ResponderEliminarCan you tell us what the 'average Spaniard' thinks of the letter of support sent by the Catalan Independence Party to the people of Gibraltar ?
ResponderEliminar90 Average Spaniard thinks about that power bill and petrol are very expensive.
ResponderEliminarA meaningless reply from the writer of the blog.
ResponderEliminarGibraltar is responsible for feeding families in La Lineá which the Spanish government ignore.
ResponderEliminarYou talk about 'drug smuggling and money laundering' who on earth smuggles drugs from Gibraltar to Spain or does money laundering at Natwest or Barclays - who want your life history before you can open an account.
The Gibraltarians at Kingston were taking the piss out of you because you are gullible and despite an English education remain so.
The Spanish are totally blinkered and secular. What can we do to deflect attention from the rhetoric of corruption? ah yes let us ask our fiscal enemy Argentina to hold our hands for the prospective battle. A battle that neither country will win.
ResponderEliminarI'm Gibraltarian, and my passport says "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", and inside, under nationality, it says "British Citizen".
ResponderEliminarBut that's not important, right? You mean that we don't look or act much like English people, and eat different food, and so on. In that case you could toss out large numbers of immigrants and their descendants who have long since changed their nationalities on the very same grounds.