Alberto’s family comes from Ferrol but he has already been working in different shipyards of Spain, lining the boats. Although he considers himself an open-minded person, Alberto admits racism has been always present in his personal life.
When I was born, my family moved to Alicante. We were somehow immigrants, who came to live in a different city. My mother used to say that the opinion about Galicians in Alicante was rather negative: ‘They were taking away the jobs of the locals by charging everything cheaper’. As funny as it may sound, those were the exact words my father would later repeat about immigrants coming from Latin America to Ferrol. He, indeed, was a racist.
What is more, when I got married my parents did not come to the wedding. They refused to accept the invitation because of the fact I invited my international and ‘gypsy’ friends. All the outsiders that I met have always been very humble and reminded me that despite our differences we are all people. I learned a lot thanks to them.
Nowadays I have three children. They are the most important thing in life for me. The oldest one is 22 and got an offer to work on a boat in China. My daughter is studying Early Childhood Education and my third son is still pursuing his primary education. If my children want to go abroad in the future, I would for sure support them. International experience and a mixture of cultures enriches everyone.
If one day I had to go to another country to work, I would. Thanks to living in various places in Spain I noticed that prejudices are not good. I do not judge anyone by where he/she is from. I judge him/her as a person.