argia.eus
INPRIMATU
The houses of our privileges
  • The journalist María Ángeles Fernández has published in Pikara Magazine the article "The Houses of Our Privileges". The journalist has reminded people that they are complaining and that they are really going to be made hard of their home, such as those living in homes of 20 square meters, those suffering machista violence at home and housewives and household employees working at home without quarantine. In the following lines you have the article translated into Basque:  
ARGIA @argia 2020ko martxoaren 22a
Ilustrazioa: Señora Milton / Pikara Magazine.

Quarantine may seem like a bargain, but for many, undoubtedly the most precarious, domestication means misery and discontent. Let's talk about the material conditions of isolation.

Staying at home is not the same for everyone. Even when there is no state alarm. For many, staying at home means working: freelance journalists, household employees, housewives, mothers, elderly and children who take care of without pay... That is, if until now you have worked at home it is usual to be at home, but not breathing can affect your mental health. Because, of course, not everyone has a balcony or a terrace.

Staying at home is not the same for everyone, because the deadlines are not always a house and a safe place. It's a shelter that can't wet you when it rains, and a bed to rest in half. Staying at home is not the same for everyone, as many of the sexual assaults are caused by family members and much of the male violence occurs between the four walls of the house. Staying at home is not the same for everyone, because not all houses are the same.

Now that social media is in full use, there have been many messages that have been criticised by those who have said that it is not good for them to stay at home. Why complain, internet, Netflix, books, consoles and I don't know how much more we have. Why complain if you're with your family. I mean, it's not that hard. The day we stop looking at our navel and develop our empathy, maybe we can do things better, and the army won't have to go out into the street.

You may think I'm writing from outrage, no, I'm surprised, because I've realized that a lot of people live far from reality, and we live a dystopia!

The Internet doesn't have anyone at home: I'm not going to go into details, but let's remember the old ones. So, not everyone has platforms like Netflix and they won't use consoles (I don't know what they're called today). A lot of people don't have books at home. They have had a different culture depending on the family in which they were born or raised and have not had a habit of reading normally. I know that those who consume this kind of media have a degree of interest in reading, but a lot of people don't read "Pikara," nor any other written media. A lot of people don't read and don't have books at home.

Staying at home is not the same for everyone. More examples: I have friends who share house (that is, their house is the room) and other friends live in a chalet with portal. Well, what you mean, being at home isn't the same for everyone. The window gives the interior patio with houses of 20 square meters and houses with guest rooms, which give south to the sun with stained glass. In some houses there are fridges as they are taken to the campsite (you will tell me where they are going to store the food) and others have heels (in plural I say because it seems that in these days many of them have been sold). Heels have a place to store food until the end of the world comes. If it's houses with swimming pool, others don't.

And finally: there are people who live alone, others who have a distant family, others who live with violent or agonizing people, others who live with people with a high degree of dependency, who cause great mental fatigue, some who live with children who do not understand why they cannot go out in the streets, others who live with the sick, others who share a flat with someone who is not well treated, others who live in nursing homes, others in children's centers. Yes, yes, how are you going to stay home if your house is the street? Perhaps the most appropriate verb for these latter examples is another. There are people who live with difficulty, there are people who survive.

Staying at home is not the same for everyone, and it almost always depends on your pocket or your family’s. Let us stop looking at our navel and thinking that we are the measure of something, because surely we are the measure of our privileges.