Vienna, 16th November 2013.
The assembly of Spanish Erasmus students in Vienna, which states to be disassociated with any kind of student representative organ, is born in the student reunion that united in order to defend the Erasmus European exchange Programme , freely decided to gather with the purpose of organizing and carrying through protests facing the involved institutions.
Today, 16th November, the Spanish Erasmus student collective in Austria gathers here to reclaim the right to accomplish our studies abroad, receiving for such accomplishment whole support and compromise from the Spanish and European institutions.
Such support has been recently questioned by the manoeuvres of the Spanish Government, as well as for the procedure of the Autonomous Communities and universities regarding this Programme. During last years, financial helps have been progressively cut down, reducing ridiculously the received amount. There was no measure to stop such cutbacks, and the dismantling policy of the successive governments in Spain.
Last 29th October, on the Official Bulletin of the State it was decided (without previous parliamentary debate), redistributing unequally the economic helps aimed for the Erasmus scholarship holders. In this manner, only the Erasmus students who had received the general scholarship or “MEC scholarship” the previous term (2012/2013) would be granted with the state retribution on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Therefore, thousands of students that are already abroad because of our Erasmus studies were left without grant, after having paid first months of stay, language courses and university taxes from our own pockets or our parents ´pockets.
We have mistrusted the politicians who full their mouths with fake promises for a long time now. The Erasmus Programme is a way to get out of Spain, in order to find a future that wants to be stolen from us. Bearing in mind that the actual scholarship is around 300 Euros monthly at most, a cutback in it means an over effort for our families. In any case, we don´t dedicate that money “to have fun”, since it would be impossible to live like that.
We consider this manoeuvre to be an absolute scam, one more on behalf of the People´s Party (Partido Popular). However, this situation is not surprising considering that, since the crisis began, the following Spanish governments have tried to attack and destroy Public Education through cutbacks and reforms. Last years have been nothing but a succession of attacks to all educational levels. And is actually at University, the future of countries, where we see it clearest: rise of prohibitive taxes; the drastic reduction of investigation budgets; removal of SENECA, the economic help for the SICUE Exchange Programme; and an abusive scholarship policy for most Spanish students. In consequence, the Spanish education finds great difficulty to improve its quality.
Due to this Spanish austericide policy, many people are forced to leave their country behind, as we have. Sadly, this notorious human capital escape is growing, leading to a national exodus in order to find better working conditions and a decent future according to our education and capacities.
We want to make clear that we leave Spain so as to complete our formation, learn a foreign language and know other cultures. Besides, we do this in search of growing as students and as human beings, making use of an essential public programme that unites Europe and encourages cultural- and knowledge-exchange among the inhabitants of the continent. It is us, the Erasmus community, who shapes the Europe that appears on maps.
By virtue of what has been set out, and because we consider the action of the Government to be shameful (regarding to this concrete issue, as well as regarding to the dismantling of Public Education), we demand the resignation of the Minister of Education and Culture, José Ignacio Wert, and the abolition of all the antidemocratic measures he has taken.
FOR THE ERASMUS SCHOLARSHIP, AND FOR A QUALITY EDUCATION!!!
PUBLIC EDUCATION IS NOT A SYNONYM FOR PRECARITY!!!
I want to thank you all for being here because, unfortunately, social consciousness is not usually promoted by schools. It’s something you have to grow on your own, now more than ever. We have to move, we have to act, either in the streets or from home. Because we’ve seen that Internet can really put some pressure on the media. This fight is not only for us. It’s also for our Erasmus mates of the next year. It’s because we are students and also workers in so many cases. Moreover, it’s because our parents and families, who are the ones paying for this “luxury” that seems to be studding abroad.
I repeat: PUBLIC EDUCATION IS NOT A SYNONYM FOR PRECARITY!!!
And if the government doesn’t want to realize that, we will repeat it thousands of times. We won’t consider ourselves ignorants, despite that’s how they want to treat us like. If the government doesn’t respect us, students and citizens in general, by legalizing such modifications, we will keep on even stronger. No more provocations, no more undercover negotiations, no more “white” promises. We are sick and tired, and they are going to hear us, no matter how far we are.
IT’S FOR OUR OWN FUTURE AND FOR THE FUTURE OF THOSE WHO STILL HAVE TO COME.
