European Central: Ukranians Reviving Spanish Villages in Countryside
Sergio Mendoza Hochmann/ Yevhen Borysov
Ukrainian refugees have been fleeing the fighting to safety in other European countries. The majority of refugees headed to countries near Ukraine, in particular Poland, but 135,000 have also arrived in Spain. This has resulted in the median age of villages decreasing dramatically as typically the It is hard to say how soon Ukrainians will move back when it becomes safe to do so but Spain hopes that some Ukrainians will stay. While grateful to be away from the violence some Ukrainians are not as enthusiastic about living in rural Spain. Similar to Spain, Ukraine’s population has become increasingly urbanized. This makes it difficult for people to cope with living in a small village if they are accustomed to city life. An additional difficulty Ukrainians must overcome is the language barrier. The main languages spoken in Ukraine are Ukrainian and Russian, both are classified as Eastern Slavic languages and very different from Spanish, a Romance language. This makes it possible for Ukrainians to feel stranded in a foreign country and unable to communicate with the few people around.
Spaniards have been leaving the countryside for decades in droves Over the past 50 years, the population in rural Spain shrank by 28 percent as people were allured away to cities in search of better opportunities. This trend has become known as la Espana Vacia (rural Spain) and the situation has become dire for villages in the countryside. Some have already become ghost towns or others face the same fate as the young have left the elderly behind for opportunities elsewhere. This is drastically different from France and Germany, whose rural areas still responsible for 40 and 50 percent of their national GDP.
Rural residents blame the depopulation on the lack of investment from the federal government. One result was the creation of Teruel Existe, a small political party that started as a political movement in 1999 and was registered as a political party in 2021. The party won one seat in congress and two in the senate. The party’s focus is to draw attention to rural areas such as Teruel, a province of only 133,000 people. Politicians are heeding the anger and demands from rural Spain and are trying to rectify the problem. In 2021, Spain dedicated 10 billion euros of the Covid-19 recovery money to fighting rural flight from the funds it would receive from the European Union. The funds that all member states are eligible to receive are focused on the ecological and digital transition and Spain plans on taking full advantage. Small villages in the countryside will be prioritized in order to change the energy source buildings use, revamp the water system, and digitalize the countryside. The digital divide in Spain is well known and is a major challenge in order to convince people to move to the countryside. Beatriz Martin, one of the two senators representing Teruel Existe received a phone as a benefit of being a senator but gets no reception in her home village of Buena. In order to work and make phone calls, she has to drive to where she can get reception, working from within her car. Senator Martin says that several friends would like to move to her small village but a lack of coverage prevents them from being able to work.
Spain’s fertility rate also adds to the problem. Instead of a growing population, Spain’s fertility rate in 2020 was 1,366, significantly below 2,1 which would allow the country to grow modestly. And the 2,68 fertility rate the country had in 1950. This means that urban and rural areas must compete for a constantly decreasing number of young people. Spain’s population growth is now primarily driven by migration. This means urban and rural areas will continue to compete for workers for a population that continues to have fewer kids unless Spain can also create a strategy to raise the fertility rate alongside investing in rural Spain.
One village has taken its support for Ukrainians as far as changing the name of the village to Ukraine temporarily during holy week. The village of 7,100 inhabitants located almost halfway between Seville and Cordoba is usually known as Fuentes de Andalucía. Street names have also been changed and are renamed after various cities in Ukraine. Besides the name change, the village has also raised money to open a refugee center that will have enough space to provide housing for up to 25 Ukrainians. In order to be able to build the center, the village is looking for volunteers who can do the masonry, electrical work, and plumbing to keep costs down. The village also wanted to support other countries in conflict and reflected this with other streets named after Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen, Palestine, Haiti, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Western Sahara, and Niger. Fuentes de Andalucía already had a city flag and shield with the colors blue and yellow but the street signs showing the temporary new names also included the Ukrainian flag. The eagerness of the villagers to help is nothing new as a Syrian family has already been given refugee in the village for years.
Spain’s Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration on March 17th revealed Spain’s program to help assist Ukrainians fleeing the invasion. The program consists of families willing to host Ukrainian refugees in four provinces: Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, and Barcelona. The program is on a volunteer basis. After families submit paperwork to express their interest their ability to host Ukrainian refugees will be evaluated. This however is a program in urban Spain.
Spain’s rural exodus will not be solved overnight and the number of Ukrainian refugees is a small drop in the bucket compared to the amount that has moved to urban areas over the past fifty years. Instead, Spain will have to ensure that the government invests in the countryside and helps connects rural villages to the internet. Internet access allows businesses to connect with customers around the world. This could also help relieve housing costs in urban areas if people do decide to move back to rural Spain.
