Category Archives: Protesto Geração À Rasca
M12M – Movimento 12 Março – Public Presentation
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The 12th of March
Protesto da Geração À Rasca
Filed under Here, My Everyday, Politics, Protesto Geração À Rasca, Uncategorized
Why a Protest?
For all of us, young, new… For a job with dignity, with justice, to fight for our constitution and the rights it offers to us all.
But instead of complaining we need to understand that we don’t have a guilty in Democracy, we don’t have a THEY. In Democracy there is no you and me, there is a WE! We cannot say everything is wrong and only criticize! We have the responsibility to make a change and contribute to a better situation.
Without optimistic changes “there was only one way to react: it was taking the streets and showing we want to go back to the basics of democracy,”
“We could say it started with unemployment rates of 10.6% in December, with code-contributory benefits which had its application in January, the political instability, debt growth, the number of PEC’s…
Many people were feeling life itself eroding in recent years … …
I mean, there was so much that made people feel increasingly frustrated and disillusioned and angry with the direction this country was taking, with the actual direction that our life was to take.
there is a whole country that begins to deteriorate economically and socially. In the end it was this “that forced the talks to go beyond the cafe tables” and move into the social network, and then to the streets!
Internet, social networks and social change
Internet is a form of participative democracy! Access to information, awareness, debate … All these forms of active participation that allow us to actually capitalize the so called “armchair activism” (!) which is useful in contributing to the proliferation of information, for sharing and broaden discussions and/or opinions and positions and, above all (in my view) for contact between people with different thoughts or not, that can mobilize and contribute to a dynamic civil society – nationally and internationally.
It is therefore important to consider the role the Internet plays in global politics. Information is power, but the technology of the century sparked a revolution in information.
In recent years, the citizens’ movements, driven by the boom of social networks, are finding a way to be heard, share, social dialogue. For a few years now there has been much that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others started to contribute promoting the involvement of the people, becoming a weapon of mass mobilization.
On social networks and blogs, the countercharge started, contestation breaths (!), people join forces to protest and claims to justice. On social networks and blogs, the election campaign unfolds, debated by the people, circulated by the parties. The policy is now also done online and every one of us is a politician!
The great movements start with small groups of people online. From this moment on, the phenomenon is no longer manageable. “Who tells a tale, he adds a point,” says the ancient Portuguese culture… Well, in our “little global village online” the word is magnificent, the word is power: the friends suggest other friends and the growth of these initiatives begins! The participants organize, align ideas, debate, discuss …
Increasingly, a world beyond the screen, appears as a small gap of social control, leaving the force, pressure and lobby now (and also finally!) pending to the side of people.
We should not, however, forget that although this online world increasingly implemented in the end, people continue to be, me, you, we, all, that make the difference, which contributes to any shift in the world!
On the 4th of February 2011 a group of friends was at the coffee…
…having fun, discussing politics as usual, thinking about the reaction people had to the music of Deolinda – “Que parva que eu sou”.
The Precarious Generation Manifest
We, unemployed, “five hundred-eurists” and other underpaid workers, disguised slaves, sub- and term-hired, fake independent workers, intermittent workers, trainees, scholarship holders, working students, students, mothers, fathers and sons of Portugal.
We, who have up to now been complacent with the conditions laid upon us, stand here, today, to contribute to a qualitative change in our country. We stand here, today, because we can no longer accept the situation that we have been dragged into. We stand here, today, because every day, we strive hard to be deemed worthy of a dignified future, with stability and safety in all areas of our lives.
We protest so that those responsible for our uncertain situation – politicians, employers, and ourselves – act together towards a rapid change in this reality that has become unsustainable.
Otherwise:
a) The present is defrauded, in that we are not given the chance to show our potential, thus blocking the betterment of social-economical conditions of the country. The aspirations of a whole generation, which cannot prosper, are put to waste.
b) The past is insulted, because previous generations have worked hard for our rights, our access to education, our security, labour rights and our freedom. Decades of effort, investment and dedication, risk being compromised.
c) The future is at check, and we foresee it without quality education for all and no fair retirement pensions for those who have worked their whole lives. The resources and skills that could put the country back on track of economic success will be wasted.
We are the highest-qualified generation in the history of our country. For this reason, we won’t let down to tiredness, frustration or lack of future perspectives. We do believe we have all the resources and tools to provide a bright future to our country and ourselves.
This is not a protest against any one particular generation. Quite simply, we are not, nor do we want to, wait passively for problems to sort themselves out. We protest towards a solution, of which we want to be a part of.
(Translation by Pedro Alvim and Tomás Costa)
Filed under Here, Politics, Protesto Geração À Rasca