MADRID // Sara Lopez Martin is well-qualified. She holds a PhD in political science from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain's most prestigious educational institution. She has specialised in legal issues affecting social movements, and she has co-founded an internet service provider. She is 31 years old.
Despite her ability and experience, however, Ms Martin has not had a full-time job since January. Before that, she could not find a job that remotely fit her hard-earned qualifications.
Because she was previously employed, she still receives â¬400 (Dh2,100) a month in unemployment benefits but she is eligible for only two more months.
"I sent out thousands of CVs. I would have preferred to work at the university but there has been a hiring stop since 2005. I applied for jobs at companies, in marketing, as a secretary, anything. In the end, I took jobs at burger places and my last one was for a pizza delivery service. But even those jobs I cannot get anymore," she said while staffing a legal-aid booth at an encampment of protesters in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square.
Ms Martin does not expect miracles from the protests in Spain. But she is hopeful that young people will now at least undertake a conversation about how to shape their collective future. "Nobody here used to talk about politics," she said.
The protesters in Madrid and elsewhere in Spain, who have occupied squares in a way that faintly echoes Egypt's Tahrir square, call themselves "indignados" - the angry. Yet their fury is mostly contained and is aimed at economic, social and political problems, rather than at one leader or one party.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/worl...h-protesters-express-anger-at-economic-plight
Despite her ability and experience, however, Ms Martin has not had a full-time job since January. Before that, she could not find a job that remotely fit her hard-earned qualifications.
Because she was previously employed, she still receives â¬400 (Dh2,100) a month in unemployment benefits but she is eligible for only two more months.
"I sent out thousands of CVs. I would have preferred to work at the university but there has been a hiring stop since 2005. I applied for jobs at companies, in marketing, as a secretary, anything. In the end, I took jobs at burger places and my last one was for a pizza delivery service. But even those jobs I cannot get anymore," she said while staffing a legal-aid booth at an encampment of protesters in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square.
Ms Martin does not expect miracles from the protests in Spain. But she is hopeful that young people will now at least undertake a conversation about how to shape their collective future. "Nobody here used to talk about politics," she said.
The protesters in Madrid and elsewhere in Spain, who have occupied squares in a way that faintly echoes Egypt's Tahrir square, call themselves "indignados" - the angry. Yet their fury is mostly contained and is aimed at economic, social and political problems, rather than at one leader or one party.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/worl...h-protesters-express-anger-at-economic-plight
