I am an immigration lawyer, and in recent months, I have been handling the case of two young individuals seeking international protection since 2021. They have been able to work and have been required to pay social security contributions and file tax returns like Spaniards, but without being recognized as residents. In March, they met the requirements to obtain a short-term residence permit and escape limbo, but an instruction from the Secretary of State for Migration has dashed their hopes. They had a normalized life, but now they no longer have authorization to work, have lost the right to unemployment benefits, and have become what some call “illegal immigrants,” when they are actually victims of the system. Now they are knocking on the doors of social services, although they would prefer to work and continue fulfilling their tax obligations. Meanwhile, I am trying to find a solution without many guarantees, because the new labor-rooted residency option no longer recognizes the work of individuals seeking international protection.
Belén Iborra Plaja. Valencia
Spanish Tragedy
The voracity of the Catalan political bourgeoisie knows no bounds, nor is there anyone to impose limits on them. They managed to get an ad hoc amnesty law to support the Government, and now an ad hoc economic agreement to support Illa, even at the cost of shattering inter-territorial solidarity. Does Sánchez not think that both matters affect the majority of the social body enough to warrant a referendum on public opinion regarding those measures? Or, to paraphrase Homer in the Iliad, the secretary general of the PSOE imposes fate upon us so that future generations may serve as a song. A tragedy, but not a Greek one.
F. Javier Santos. Porto do Son (A Coruña)
Speed on the Road
We are in vacation season, amid a campaign to raise awareness about not speeding and respecting speed limits on the road to prevent accidents. The problem is that only excessive speed is referenced. We must consider that driving below the minimum speed of the road is as dangerous as speeding, as it can inadvertently cause problems for the vehicles following them.
Isidro Carmona. Madrid
Everything is Trendy
It seems that everyone has sublime experiences at beaches, restaurants, or natural spaces. This is how they convey it on social media. The reality we all know is that they are hardly special. Any experience has been so massified that the pleasure of discovering a nearly unique space or experience has become practically impossible given the resources and the desire to try everything imposed by the current social trend. Perhaps it would be good to step away, even for a moment, from the dominant trend. To keep an opinion private, maintain the secret, and preserve the magic of places, foods, or experiences. This way, we will reclaim the exclusivity of certain moments that enhance our lives, or at least we will find the peace of being in a less crowded place, more our own.
Eduardo Rojo Revenga. Valladolid