The Equalizer

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By The Equalizer - Fri 1st Feb 2013

 

Sometimes there is nothing more amusing, or ironic than the juxtaposition of two pieces of news.

One minute some witty journalist type is taking themselves very seriously and making some high-brow social commentary, and the next minute some Government agency releases some statistical data that goes an disproves the theory.

(Not that Government-issued statistics are generally to be believed anyway..)

With this in mind, two pieces of news struck a chord in me over the last few weeks :

Firstly : Barely 3 weeks ago the National Institute of Statistics (yes, a Government Agency) reported how some 55,000 people left the country during the third quarter of 2012 alone - representing a 20% increase on the same period a year earlier.

This brings the total number of people leaving Spain since January 2011 to 927,890 people, of which 117,523 were Spanish Citizens and 810,367 were foreign.

So with these statistics in mind (and taking them to be accurate etc...) it is fair to assume that a good number of these people left Spain to seek employment opportunities abroad in the face of rising levels of unemployment at home.

In fact, the Federal Employment Agency of Germany reported that some 50'000 Spaniards found employment in Germany in 2012 alone.

Secondly : Just 2 weeks later, the Special Advisor on Racism criticised Spain for their "Racist and discriminatory practices against immigrants".

The one thing that struck me as being highly ironic is this : Spaniards are leaving Spain at record levels, and quite possibly expecting or hoping for fair treatment from their new country. Healthcare, benefits, residential rights and all that...

Might be nice if they offered foreign citizens the same privileges ?