Referendum in Catalonia: eyewitness accounts

Photo: Twitter / Rudaw English

October 1 in the autonomous community of Spain Catalonia is held not permitted by the authorities of Spain independence referendum, which was marked by clashes between supporters of the separation of Catalonia with the police, as a result of which 337 people were injured.

According to eyewitnesses, the police acted very hard, the stories of the protesters gathered edition RFI.

In Barcelona, ​​clashes with police occurred near the Lyceum Ramon Llull, where in the morning a polling station was opened. According to the demonstrators, the police tried to seal the site and arrest the urns, and the demonstrators wanted to prevent the law enforcement agencies.

Exponer auxoros es es tipo de utilacarlos y uranizarlos durante la jornada de hoy es otra muestra de sinrazón intolerable#EstamosporTI pic.twitter.com/cwUHVAsqnz

- Interior Ministry (@interiorgob) October 1, 2017

As a result, came to the collision, the police used rubber bullets.

Projectils. pic.twitter.com/90Dux22caq

- Jordi Graupera (@JordiGraupera) October 1, 2017

Tam Dugan, a tourist from the UK, came to visit her son, and in the morning they decided to go and see the referendum with the whole family. She watched what was happening because of fences around the site, but at some point she noticed that a crowd of people gathered around the site began to run away from the police attacking the demonstrators.

“I stood at the top of the barrier, I had a view a little from above. I wanted to take some photos and make a video with the rioters, and while I was there, the crowd was singing some kind of song, in Catalan, I did not understand. I suddenly noticed that these groups began to move, but not very quickly, they were trying to move forward. The Catalan man next to me said it was time to leave: “You have to get out of here.” I turned around and saw that panic had suddenly begun in the crowd. I went, but many people began to panic and hurry, and screams could be heard. I walked a few meters, but my sandal got caught on the curb and fell, I tried to get up, someone helped me up, and I walked a few more meters, but because my sandal got twisted, I got caught again and fell again. And this time, when I looked up, I saw the backs of the police, they were jumping over me and chasing the crowd. I heard the sounds of some explosions and realized that they were shooting. I was just on the corner, and a rubber bullet (I think so, this is my guess) hit the wall just behind me. I looked around and saw that my son was somewhere 5-10 meters away from me, and I headed towards him. I was shaking,” said the tourist.

Sant Gervasi (# Barcelona). #CatalanReferendum pic.twitter.com/bk2heWW30y

- Albert Mercadé (@albertmercade) October 1, 2017

But not all areas today was such a fierce confrontation. Some of them continue to work, and long queues lined up for them, stretching over several quarters. People stand for several hours and are not sure that they will be able to vote today. Especially because in the polling stations there are regular interruptions in the Internet due to hacker attacks, and the work of the polls is regularly interrupted. However, according to the people who stand in these lines, not so much the legitimacy and success of this referendum, in which even the organizers themselves have little faith, matters for them. What is important is the fact that they took to the streets and thus declared their position to Madrid.

Dolores, a Barcelona resident who, together with her husband and daughter, is in the queue for a vote in front of the site at Fort Pienc school near Barcelona's northern bus station, said this was the second time this morning how they came to vote with her family. At the polling station at the place of residence Dolores came at five in the morning, but after they voted, the police closed the polling station and arrested the ballot boxes.

“In fact, this is not my polling station, mine is located in another place. And we were there from five in the morning to vote, to show that we were against it. We stood there for an hour and a half, but eventually the police came, they seized the ballot boxes and took them away. Then we heard on the radio that a “universal qualification” had been announced, that is, you can vote anywhere. But I don't know if my vote will mean anything. Because we voted at our polling station, but the ballot boxes were seized there. We cannot vote twice. We will try, but actually my voice has already been taken away. Therefore, we are now standing in line, but we do not know whether this vote will be counted at all. But in general, it does not matter whether this vote is recognized as legitimate or not. What is happening now is a protest. It is important that we are present on the street and demonstrate that we are against it. And this is unlikely to lead to anything. But this is the first step. And sooner or later changes will happen,” Dolores noted.

In addition to voting twice, non-recognition by Madrid and closed polling stations, the bulletin also raises questions in this referendum.

His photo was posted on the RFI page on the social network. Facebook.

The bulletin does not have any security features and is simply printed on A4 paper.

Photo: Facebook / RFI in Russian

“Theoretically, anyone could print one of these at home on a regular printer. Given that there were no electoral rolls, it will be difficult for the Catalan authorities to convince the world community of the authenticity of the voting results,” writes RFI.

The exact number of polling stations currently operating in Catalonia is unknown. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Madrid, there are practically no open polling stations in Catalonia, but local authorities in the region claim that 96% of the polling stations are operating. Also, the regional government announced the opening of a site for online voting for everyone.

Details about the collisions and the historical reasons for the referendum are in our material. ”The referendum for the separation of Catalonia from Spain: hundreds of wounded".

Read also on ForumDaily:

How to survive hostage and crush

911 call rules that can save lives

What to do if you are stopped by a police officer in the USA

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.