Black tears
It's
hard to think of a White Christmas when this country is
slowly and steadily fading into black
by Uma
B.
Once
upon a time, in a not so distant region in a developped
country called Spain, many fishermen risked their lives
in the ocean to get precious seafood on a beautiful coast
of green and blue.
Every
year, many tourists went up North to this magnificent place
called Galicia, attracted by its warm people, breathtaking
landscapes and delicious food.
One
day, an oil tanker that was sailing in the waters of Galicia
got caught in a storm. It was carrying 77.000 tons of fuel
oil. The ship broke in half and started sinking at the same
time as our hearts, while our eyes saw the black tide being
pushed by the winds into the coast and our minds imagined
in despair the overwhelming catastrophe about to brake lose.
The
beaches lost their natural colours. Birds, fish and plants
died within hours. Two dolphins were washed into the shore,
killed in fuel oil. The fishermen sailed into the sea with
their little boats. They didn't carry their rods and nets
with them, just the courage to collect the spillage with
their bare hands.
These
men were not alone. Dozens, then hundreds of volunteers
joined in the war against the dark, sticky and poisonous
enemy. Meanwhile, the members of the Government were in
hiding. They didn't speak, they didn't condemn, they didn't
help. Their childish attitude made believe that if you don't
look at the problem in the eye, the problem doesn't exist.
But
the problem was there and it will linger on, covering our
minds and the soul of Galicia. We are crying black tears.
We are crying for help.
|
