The hidden face

I had the opportunity the other day of seeing the other side of Barcelona. The side none really talks about or even sees. My flatmate took me for a walk through the infamous Raval district. Most of the people who live here are immigrants: either low income or are unemployed. A certain level of unemployment is normal in any city or country right?? But what's considered normal? So I did a little more research and found that Spain has the worst unemployment problem in Europe with an unemployment rate of 17.4%! Its the highest in the European Union and twice what the EU sets as average! That blew me away!! No doubt, the high rate was due in large part to the recession but it seems that the recession only worsened an already existing problem. My perfect image of Barcelona and Spain was shattered in that moment. As I walked down those streets, I pretty much forgot about the beautiful beaches, serene seas, rich culture, fancy food, world famous tourist sites and I was faced with the reality of poverty! Overcrowded housing, poor living conditions, dirty streets...somewhat unkempt looking individuals (or maybe that was because of the time of day that I went there). It was a whole new side to Spain. I'm sure that this exists in every city, but as a ''tourist'' that's not what you're there for.....right?! I feel as if we adopt the, '' If you can't see it, it doesn't exist'' attitude or at least that it's not our problem to deal with. Well call me naive or idealistic but I really didn't expect to see so much poverty here in my idyllic Barcelona. My flat mate told me some rather unpleasant things about the way people in this district are treated (mainly by authorities) and some of the restrictions in the neighbourhoods. It sounded familiar.. like many places around the world... so why did I expect it to be different here? It doesn't seem like the same place anymore... or maybe I'm not as ignorant.... and reality has reared its ugly head into the picture. This place now exists in my mind as a yin-yang....... the ideal city with the half hidden face.