#HomeToVote from Seville, Spain!
Donation protected
Hey everyone!
I'm a Dublin student on my compulsory year-long Erasmus exchange in Seville, the capital of Andalusia.
As someone who is firmly pro-repeal and absolutely appalled by the Eight Amendment, I felt a mixture of emotions when the referendum date was finally announced: relief, excitement, and a touch of dismay that I would not be able to cast my vote - I was studying abroad and assumed that it would be too unreasonable to expect to get all the way home just to vote.
I then began seeing the hashtag #hometovote making the rounds again, three years after I had first seen it for the marriage referendum. I remember coming back that morning from voting for the very first time (having just turned eighteen), seeing the photos and selfies and tweets flowing in from all over the world as Irish men and women narrated their journeys home to vote, and feeling so full of pride for my country and my generation that I sat on the sofa and cried.
I never imagined that one day I would be part of that movement, but, as it occurred to me as I began checking prices for flights for May 25, I could be. My problem in Seville is that there are only direct flights between Seville and Dublin on Tuesdays and Saturdays - if I fly in Tuesday, I will miss four days of classes near exam season. If I fly in Saturday, I am a day late for the vote. I therefore began searching for flights to Dublin from places like Málaga and Madrid, and found some. But they are expensive, and involve long (also expensive!) train journeys. Overall, I'm looking at in and around €300 for return flights and train tickets, which unfortunately is just too expensive for me.
That's why I'm turning to this wonderful group.
It absolutely blows me away that we are doing this a second time, that total strangers can be so generous and kind and thoughtful as this. If I can reach maybe €200 in donations, I would be able to cover the rest. The hours of travel and awkwardness of the journey don't bother me at all, not if I can get home and contribute to a referendum I hope will finally give Irish women our denied bodily autonomy.
I can't promise to pay any of this back. But I can definitely promise to pay it forward, some day - even if no one donates to me, the fact that this movement exists gets me emotional, and so, so appreciative of the selflessness of total strangers. I won't ever forget it.
I will provide proof that I am on the register and proof of flight/train costs to whoever is willing to spare me some funds and get me home.
Thank you so much.
I'm a Dublin student on my compulsory year-long Erasmus exchange in Seville, the capital of Andalusia.
As someone who is firmly pro-repeal and absolutely appalled by the Eight Amendment, I felt a mixture of emotions when the referendum date was finally announced: relief, excitement, and a touch of dismay that I would not be able to cast my vote - I was studying abroad and assumed that it would be too unreasonable to expect to get all the way home just to vote.
I then began seeing the hashtag #hometovote making the rounds again, three years after I had first seen it for the marriage referendum. I remember coming back that morning from voting for the very first time (having just turned eighteen), seeing the photos and selfies and tweets flowing in from all over the world as Irish men and women narrated their journeys home to vote, and feeling so full of pride for my country and my generation that I sat on the sofa and cried.
I never imagined that one day I would be part of that movement, but, as it occurred to me as I began checking prices for flights for May 25, I could be. My problem in Seville is that there are only direct flights between Seville and Dublin on Tuesdays and Saturdays - if I fly in Tuesday, I will miss four days of classes near exam season. If I fly in Saturday, I am a day late for the vote. I therefore began searching for flights to Dublin from places like Málaga and Madrid, and found some. But they are expensive, and involve long (also expensive!) train journeys. Overall, I'm looking at in and around €300 for return flights and train tickets, which unfortunately is just too expensive for me.
That's why I'm turning to this wonderful group.
It absolutely blows me away that we are doing this a second time, that total strangers can be so generous and kind and thoughtful as this. If I can reach maybe €200 in donations, I would be able to cover the rest. The hours of travel and awkwardness of the journey don't bother me at all, not if I can get home and contribute to a referendum I hope will finally give Irish women our denied bodily autonomy.
I can't promise to pay any of this back. But I can definitely promise to pay it forward, some day - even if no one donates to me, the fact that this movement exists gets me emotional, and so, so appreciative of the selflessness of total strangers. I won't ever forget it.
I will provide proof that I am on the register and proof of flight/train costs to whoever is willing to spare me some funds and get me home.
Thank you so much.
Organizer and beneficiary
Hannah McCarthy
Organizer
Seville
Manuel Barcia
Beneficiary
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