Our city and our values

Against fear, we will act with courage, rebuilding life

Esther Vera
1 min
Un home i un nen durant la concentració de divendres a la Rambla.

It was a fraught, disconcerting, desolate time in Barcelona city. On a bright sunny day, a hot day in August, the city fell prey to the barbarians. La Rambla was full of tourists and local residents, people who share a way of life and the values of a welcoming, inclusive, open city.

Our most common cityscape was a victim of terror, and was seized by shouting, the victims’ pain, the last breath of the dead and the pain of us all. The attack was followed by the thick silence that comes after a tragedy. After Madrid, London, Paris, Berlin, Nice, Brussels, Stockholm, and so many cities struck before ours, today we are the ones mourning.

But we are not alone. Fanatics target our values, our way of life, democracy, difference, diversity, respect for and receiving others, women’s rights and joy. Ultimately, they attack our freedom. Barcelona has experienced many tragic situations in history and we will not get over this one easily, either. Who didn’t react yesterday by checking that their loved ones were safe? But against fear, we will act with courage, rebuilding life. We owe it as a homage to those who lost their lives yesterday at the hands of a few fanatics of death.

It is a sad life when you believe that death, darkness and fanaticism can justify leaving the body of a young girl who went for a walk sprawled in the middle of the street. Damn you all. Your god is ashamed of you.

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