Amazighs: Catalan model is aspirational

Abdul Abdelouahed, President of the Council of Amazigh Organisations, is interviewed in full in today’s El Punt Avui Nacional section.

You’ve been working on promoting Amazigh (Berber) culture and language in Catalonia since 2010. Is it hard work?

The Amazighs have survived centuries of oppression, and it is not considered a “prestigious” language. In North Africa we have French and Arabic which are considered “higher class” languages. Recovering the self-esteem of our culture is hard work. In Catalonia, an understanding is emerging that we feel Amazigh first, before we identify as Arabs, Moroccans or Muslims.

You teach Catalan at La Casa Amaziga – tell us about that.

Learning Catalan is a stepping stone. Learning when young is critical to integration and its is the key to productive interaction in a country. For us, as Amazighs, we see Catalan linguistic integration as aspirational.

Has language opened other doors for collaborative projects?

Yes, we train language teachers, and we also do work in Morocco, where we teach people about Catalonia, living here, and its differentiating characteristics.