CREO NA INDEPENDENCIA, NA MIÑA, NA DE TOD@S // I BELIEVE IN INDEPENDENCE, MINE, EVERYONE'S

CREO NA INDEPENDENCIA, NA MIÑA, NA DE TOD@S 

I BELIEVE IN INDEPENDENCE, MINE, EVERYONE'S

Os cambios case nunca son recibidos con agrado xa que son incómodos e obrigan a mudar cousas, a romper esquemas establecidos e o ser humano busca por natureza a comodidade e desgraciadamente o estatismo. A nosa actitude ante todo o que implica un cambio é “deixa as cousas coma están que así están ben xa se andará...”. Sempre me rebelei contra esta premisa e contra outras moitas e apliquei a miña propia de “todo é mellorable”.

Changes are almost never welcomed because they are uncomfortable and it make us move things, to break established schemes and human beings seek because of their nature, comfort and unfortunately, motionlessness. Our attitude faced with anything that could be a change is “let the things be like they are, they’re fine as they are, everything will work out...” I always rebelled against these thoughts and others and I applied my own “everything could be better”.

Creo na independencia, na miña, na de tod@s. Creo nela dende o momento que decidín que era tempo de deixar de vivir con meus pais e empezar a vivir sola. Para unha muller galega a simple vontade ser querer ser independente non era razón suficiente e non era doado explicalo nin era ben visto no meu entorno naqueles anos. 

I believe in independence, mine, and everyone’s. I have believed in independence since the moment that it was time to leave my parent’s house and start to live by myself. For a Galician woman the simple will to be independent wasn’t reason enough and it was very difficult to explain, it was frowned upon in my environment. 

Curiosamente a única voz a favor foi a do meu pai, que medrou nun marco progresista e que pensaba que a miña decisión era boa se o obxectivo era vivir soa, parecíalle ben; iso si, advertiume do tremendamente difícil que a sociedade era para unha muller que debía ser prudente e coidadosa.

Curiously the only voice in favour was my father’s who grew up in a very progressive family and who thought that my decision was good for me if the objective was living by myself, he agreed; however he warned me about the huge difficulties for a women in our society, and I had to be careful and prudent.

Por outra banda estaba miña nai e o resto da familia tradicionalista. Qué escándalo! Que tolería! Como se lle ocorre! Unha muller non pode vivir soa! Non vai ser capaz de manexar o salario! Ten que cambiar de opinión! Non lle imos falar mais! E se queda sen traballo? E se non da pagado as facturas? E se lle pasa algo? Non vai poder entrar de novo nesta casa! A campaña de medo foi tremenda e empeoraba en canto se achegaba o momento de botar a voar.

On the other side were my Mum and the rest of her traditionalist family. What a scandal! Madness! What is she thinking about? A woman cannot live alone! She won’t be able to manage her salary! She has to change her mind! We won’t speak to her ever again! And what if she loses her job? What if she can’t pay the bills? And what if something goes wrong? She will never be able to entry in this house again! The project fear campaign was tremendous and it was getting worse as the moment to move grew closer.

Ante tanto bombardeo en contra da miña independencia víñanseme á mente  todas aquelas mulleres que non tiveron mais opción que someterse e aceptar resignadamente os roles  que os poderes militares e eclesiásticos lles impuxeron. Pensei no caso mais claro diso que tiña diante: miña nai, unha muller escrava das obrigas "tradicionais" cun fabuloso potencial desbotado que lle provocaba unha crónica frustración. Ela pertence a esas xeración ferida de mulleres galegas.

Seeing so much bombardment against my own independence I was reminded of all those women who had the no other option than to submit and accept with resignation the roles that military and ecclesiastic powers laid out for them. I thought of the clearest case I had in front of me: my Mum, a slave of traditionalist obligations with a huge repressed potential that makes her feel chronic frustration. She belongs to those wounded generations of Galician women.

Como muller e como persoa pensei que era mais importante aceptar os retos e superarse, non para demostrarlle nada a ninguén, senón por min mesma. Creo firmemente que somos uns espellos dos outros e que uns de outros aprendemos e sei con certeza que para miña nai a miña independencia foi un tremendo shock, mais tamén un exemplo, unha lección que axudou a liberala un pouco.

As a woman and as a person I thought that it was more important to accept the challenge and overcome it, not to prove anything to anybody but to myself. I strongly believe that we are all mirror of each other, and from others we learn, and I certainly know that for my Mum my independence was a terrible shock but also an example, a lesson that helped her to be a wee bit freer. 

Sempre pensei que o medo é o noso maior inimigo, e que hai ser valente para vencelo, para vivir e decidir. Miles de mulleres galegas foron quen de parir aos seus fillos e crialos elas soas, viúvas de vivos e viúvas de mortos, foron criadoras, cociñeiras, doutoras, parteiras, pintoras, escritoras, agricultoras, marisqueiras ... Moitas delas sen pensalo viviron soas, porque a vida lles puxo nesa situación, non por elección, e saíron adiante con matricula de honra.

I always thought that fear is our biggest enemy, and we have to be brave to beat it, to live and decide. Thousands of Galician women were capable to giving birth their children and bringing them up without any help, widows of the living and the dead were brooders, cooks, healers, midwives, painters, writers, farmers, fisherwomen... Lots of them were living alone, without thinking anything of it, just because life put them in this situation, not by choice. And they all came out of it with honours.

Cada paso que damos reafirmando os nosos dereitos é un paso que damos para que as xeracións vindeiras teñan asegurado o seu benestar fundamentado en principios de solidariedade, a independencia e capacidade de interacción con respecto mutuo e  igualdade. A alternativa é seguir sementando o noso futuro con medo, transmitindo os mesmos vellos esquemas que nos levan a permanecer nun mundo de opresión, de manipulación, de egoísmo, de destrución, inamovibles nunha malsán dependencia.

Every step we take reaffirming our rights is a step we take for the next generations to have the security of welfare based on principles of solidarity, independence and capability to interact with mutual respect and equality. The alternative is to keep seeding our future with fear, transmitting the same old schemes that make us to live in a world of oppression, manipulation, selfishness, destruction... entrenched in an unhealthy dependence.

Naqueles anos a miña decisión foi totalmente firme. Medo? Pos claro que tiña! Era un reto! Mais púidome mais o desexo de aprender,  de ser, de  coñecer o meu potencial sen o control moitas veces asfixiante do que deixaba atrás. Asumín a responsabilidade de xestionar a miña economía totalmente. Cometín erros e fun quen de rectificalos, mellorei as relacións con aqueles que ameazaban con boicotearme os mesmos que empezaron a mirarme con respecto; ampliei lazos e amizades, viaxei, chorei e rin. Non me arrepinto de nada, e menos dos erros cometidos xa que grazas a eles medrei coma persoa, coma individuo. Hoxe mais que nunca creo na independencia, na miña e na colectiva. A independencia dignifica.

In those days my decision was completely certain. Scared? Of course I was scared! It was a challenge! But my wish to learn was stronger, to be myself, to know what my potential was without the suffocating control that I was leaving behind. I totally accepted my responsibility for managing my economy. I made mistakes and I rectified them, I improved my relationship with those who had threatened me with boycotts, the same ones who started looking at me with respect. I have broadened ties and friendships, I have travelled, I have cried and laughed. I do not regret anything, and least of all my mistakes because for them I have grown up as person, as an individual. Today, more than ever, I believe in independence, mine and the collective’s. Independence dignifies.

Todo empeza dende o mais esencial, dende o inicio, dende nós. Canto antes asumamos a responsabilidade que nos toca neste momento e valoremos honesta e sinceramente se aceptamos o reto de empezar a mandar nós e non continuar facendo o que nos manden, entón ese dia poderemos dicir que temos botado a andar cara a liberdade seriamente. E ese mesmo empezaremos a respectármonos  de verdade. Así de sinxelo, así de complexo.

Everything starts from the most essential thing, from the beginning, from us. As soon as we assume our responsibility for what we have at this moment, and we evaluate honestly and sincerely if we accept the challenge of governing ourselves and not to let others govern for us, then we could say that we are starting to be walk towards freedom. In this moment we’ll truly start to respect ourselves. As simple and as complicated as that.