Occupying the schools

Huge numbers of Catalan citizens have been occupying schools and council buildings since yesterday. Men, women, children, young and old – they all sleep in sleeping bags on gymnasium mats to ensure that the buildings will be kept open for the vote, which will commence at 9:00am tomorrow. The afternoons are filled with live music and games for the children, in the evenings, the hordes of occupiers eat takeaway pizza in the school canteens, and at night they sleep side by side. At 5:00am, everybody within the school must rise from their sleeping bags to stand outside the gates, welcoming the sun, and later, welcoming the police who will arrive to shut down the schools at 6:00am.

The polling places will remain neutral. Although Barcelona itself is plastered with graffiti and posters encouraging a 'Sí' vote, the schools will refrain from publicizing their position in the referendum. The demonstrations so far are overwhelmingly peaceful, with police being met with flowers. There has been one instance of violence in a school occupied in Manlleu, where 4 people were shot by a bb gun. The shots pierced the flesh and are being investigated.

One group of young activists have removed the school's main gate from its hinges and hidden it where the police will not find it. This will prevent the police from barricading the gate.

A list of numbers is being shared on social media. This is to alert the Catalan public who to call in case of arrest, or in case of police violence.

Election Day

For many voters here in Catalonia, the day began at 5:00am, with crowds of people gathering outside polling stations in school and council buildings, so as to prevent the institutions from being closed down by police. Many of these people, children and adults, had spent the night camping in the school, playing games, and watching films. Their intention; come morning, is to make their voices heard in the vote.

In order to make the vote happen, more than 10,000 ballot papers have been handed out by volunteers, over 300 schools have been occupied, the fire brigade are cordoning off polling stations, (and engaging in standoffs with police), hordes of tractors have driven in from the countryside, positioning themselves outside schools and council buildings to protect those inside. Voters are wearing white as a symbol of their attitude – peace and serenity.

At 8:00am, the ballot boxes arrived, carried in haste by young, casually dressed Catalonians. They were met by a hushed cheer, as the crowd tried to keep the protest peaceful and silent. There are no Catalan flags present in the polling stations, no Spanish flags, just white t-shirts and umbrellas, to shelter from the rain.

At 9:00am, the crowd waiting outside l'escola Industrial expected to be let into the polling station. It was not until 10 am that the first person was let in to vote. Many of the people administrating the vote and organizing the ballot boxes have been detained, or were put off by the threat of fines up to 400,000 euros. New citizens had to be recruited from the crowds, and quickly briefed about the voting process. The police entered the telecommunications center in the early hours, disrupting the internet and phone lines. Madrid has ordered the police to prevent the unconstitutional vote, which was adjusted in 1978, throughout the remnants of Franco's regime.

For Catalonia, today is not about changing the constitution, nor is it about independence. The people who have been standing in the rain since 5:00am are concerned with exercising their democratic right, whatever the outcome. Some elderly women were the first to vote in l'Escuela Industrial, for them this marks the third time they have voted for independence in their lifetime.

Videos and memes have been flooding the web in the run-up to the vote, depicting various strategies to use whilst approaching the ballot box; the joke video depicts a line of citizens hiding from the gaze of a bucking bull on hands and knees, crawling towards a ballot box when the bulls back is turned. The reality is somewhat more extreme. The Guardia Civil (national police) have been travelling from institution to institution. Closing down each school, using violence in many cases. Images have flooded out of elderly women, children, with huge gashes and black eyes, being beaten and carried away by the Policia Nacional.

In the days prior to the referendum there was a similar wave of repression. Websites and Wi-Fi are being blocked to prevent communications; people are resorting to social media to see where schools have been blockaded, and where violence has been encountered. Spain has closed Barcelona's airspace to helicopters and light planes. Other actions taken to prevent the vote include the seizure of over two-million ballots, the arrest of 14 high ranking Catalan officials, the removal of many pro-independence websites from the Internet, and the deployment of 4,000 Guardia Civil Police. The Guardia Civil were originally going to be accommodated on four cruise ships moored in Barcelona, Taragona and Palamos, however two dockyards announced a boycott, and a third denied them mooring. The dockyards have defended their actions saying it is in the name of civil rights.

Nevertheless, at 9:30am, Carles Puidgemont cast his vote in Girona. He was met with the first police violence of the day. The police focused their initial efforts on polling stations where key players in the election were known to be voting. Some say it was a strategic move, coinciding with an announcement that Catalan citizens will have "freedom to vote in whichever institution they choose." While this was said to facilitate movement in the city, others believe it was made in order to target Catalan MP's who would be voting nearer to their homes.

Jose Luis, from el Clot, says that he is not afraid of the police, but that he will fight to defend his nation. The majority of the Catalan people are protesting peacefully, waving their fingers and putting their hands up as though in surrender when the police arrive.

Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona is demanding that the EU needs to act to defend the freedom of speech. UN human rights experts have warned Spanish authorities that their actions appear to violate human rights.

Rajoy has been criticized for his actions, who is said to have relied on the law to guide his actions rather than use his political skill. Many have commented that he is violently wielding the law as a weapon, willfully stifling all dialogue between Spain and Catalonia in the process.

Parallels have been drawn between Rajoy and Franco, whose regime Catalonia had not anticipated to see return. Flags depicting the 'Democracia' slogan of the Omnium Cultural association have been confiscated by police, yet flags depicting Franco's face are ignored.

However, there are arguments that Catalonia has not been entirely political in its strategy either. Some 729 Mayors backed the referendum, however the remaining Mayors have been publically named and shamed, their faces printed on posters and strung up around the state. Anti-independence Catalan supporters believe that Carles Puidgemont, and Jordi Ciuxart have been forcing their agenda upon the state and that Rajoy is simply reacting against an illegal referendum.

Many people, who would like Catalonia to remain a part of Spain, will not be voting today, refusing to take part in a referendum which is illegal.

The institutions that have not yet been shut down by police will continue to be occupied until the votes have been counted. Cheers of 'Votarem' echo throughout the city – 'We will Vote'. Those voting today are determined to cast their ballot and avoid violence.

This is no longer a story of independence. This story is about Democracy.

On the afternoon of October the 1st, I sought out a Catalan resident that would be crossing the ballot to remain. I found Raul Martinez. It was not easy; I was told that the majority of people voting against independence had left the city, boycotting the vote.

Raul ordered a cafe solo, determined to make the interview as short as possible. This is what he told me:

Raul paused, took a sip of coffee, coughed into the back of his hand and looked at me. His eyes are kind and wrinkled, there is nothing villainous about him. Many people filled with patriotism have snorted at my request for a 'no voter'. "They have fled, they are not part of this." It appears that that is not true. I ask Raul:

I have heard that many people that want to remain are boycotting the vote, how come you're still here?

Raul scrapes back his chair, smiles a crinkly smile: "Can I go now?"

Mireia Valaquez was happy to come with me for a cup of tea, at eight in the morning on October the 1st. She had been sleeping in the school that her children attended for two nights now, ensuring it would stay open for the vote. She ordered black tea with milk, but scoffed a little, she said it was not usual to drink tea in this way.

How are you feeling about the upcoming vote?

Mireia looks at me, with tired brown eyes, but she is full of life, animated, she is more than pleased to be here supporting her neighborhood. The school that she has been occupying is away from the center of Barcelona. There is very little press here compared to the institutions in the city center. I ask her what kind of international support she expects to have today?

Mireia wants to stay and talk, but the polling station is due to open at 9:00am, and she must get back to open the gates and help to control the voters. Everybody voting in the school will stick around after they cast their vote, waiting until the evening until all the ballots have been counted. There is a long day ahead for everybody at Escola de Mar Bella, and many are running on very little sleep, and the croissants donated by families. Mireia thanks me, finishes her tea, pushes back her chair, and leaves.

Sunday, October 1, a peaceful protest turned ugly as the Civil Guards and Spain's National Police raid polling stations at the Catalonia Referendum.

Using brute force, batons and rubber bullet guns, the Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional threw people aside in order to seize the ballot boxes in what the Spanish government deemed an illegal vote.

Thousands of schools across Catalonia had been occupied for days in order to ensure that come 9:00am on Sunday, the doors would be opened for ballots to be cast. By the end of the day, over half of these had been shut down. Mariana Lepant, from Poble Nou, stayed three nights at her son's school. She says that what had been called a party, in many places, has turned into chaos.

The violence occurred in the outskirts of Barcelona in and around neighboring towns, as the Policia Nacional went from school to school, focusing primarily on the centers where prominent Catalan officials were known to be voting.

People took to social media to share videos and images of the violence. Free Wi-Fi networks under the name of 'Democracia' sprung up in order to keep communications alive. Many websites offering information had been shut down.

Voting upon whether they want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic, the thousands that gathered showed little sign of the patriotism that drapes the city walls. Instead of flags and colors most people wear white, in an attempt to stay neutral.

It is clear though, that a majority of the people waiting in the pouring rain, are waiting to vote 'yes'.

But not everybody who has turned out is supporting independence. An anti-independence rally on Saturday night struck a chord that was largely absent from Sunday's vote.

In search of Catalan residents voting against independence, I finally managed to find one man who had decided to attend the vote. His reasons, 'for the sake of democracy I will vote'.

And that is what the people chant come 8:00pm, when the last few voters leave to cheers, and when the polling stations close for the count.

For hours after, voters remain stationed outside the polls, as they have done all day to protect the ballot boxes from the police that may or may not show.

Tensions rise at the slightest noise of an engine, or whenever the word 'policia' is said. Helicopters cross the sky. By the close of the day, hundreds have been injured at the hands of the police – brutality that Mariano Rajoy has deemed acceptable against these lawbreakers.

At 10:00pm, the tinny chime of pots and pans resounds through Barcelona, as hundreds stand on their balconies, making a din, demanding to be heard.

By 11:00pm, Carles Puigdemont announces the result. A majority of ballots cast ask for an independent state. But what will Spain make of this unconstitutional conclusion?