Spanish protesters demand protection for jobless

On Thursday, tens of thousands of Spanish civilians marched down the streets of Madrid holding up their red flags. These were protesters that planned this demonstration. They demanded better protection for workers who were hit hard by the economic crisis right now. They were wearing black clothings to represent the 4 million jobless citizens of Spain. They had one, big, simple message : It's time to focus on the workers.

This Madrid demonstration was organized by the European Trade Confederation was the start of more activities that would follow the days after. To protest for the outrageous European unemployments rate, they are planning to do these kinds of demonstrations in Berlin, Prague, Luxembourg, Bucharest, and Birmingham. They plan to do more demonstrations in June when the European Parliament holds elections.

In Spain, the unemployment rate in the construction industry has risen to 17%, the highest in all of the European Union countries. Last year, Spain's Gross Domestic Product stats decreased by 2.9%. This year, it continues to drop by 1.8%. The European Parliament responded by saying that, "the depth of the financial crisis has been brutal," and that they have been working to establish a clearer European regulatory system with more banking supervision and also trying to relieve the effects of the recession. Members of the parliament have agreed for increase in funding for those who became jobless as a result of the financial depression, grant full rights for temporary employees and open more opportunities for training and education.

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With the world going through an economic recession, it comes to no surprise that the Europeans are all protesting. The European Trade Confederation's plan of a continent-wide campaign is a very effective way to raise awareness in Europe, but if things get extreme, a little spark or stimulus could cause chaos. An economic depression like this one makes one think back in history during the Great Depression in the 1930s and the early 1940s. Unfortunately, World War II had lifted the world from depression; industries expanded, technology developed rapidly, and the war eventually helped to boost some countries' economic situations. I hope that this recession does not come to another world war.