Passions are running high in Catalonia, amid an ongoing crisis over efforts to achieve independence from Spain. Some people who opposed independence declined to have their photographs taken. These interviews were conducted in Barcelona during and after the referendum. (RFE/RL's Belarus Service)
Voices From Catalonia
1
This woman agreed to be photographed, but declined to give her name. She said: "We are being strangled. The Spanish government strangles us and takes our money."
2
Sergio: "I voted for independence, because I don't like the repression. The problem is the Spanish government – not the Spanish people. We went to vote with my wife, and there was fear that the police would attack and beat us."
3
Anna: "We are being discriminated for many years. For some time we had more autonomy, but then it was taken away by the Spanish government."
4
Salvador: "This referendum is illegal. We live in a democracy – you can get the majority in the Spanish parliament and change whatever you want. But you should respect the law. The Spanish Constitution is our law, and there is no right to secession there."