Significant events dramatically impacted many peoples’ lives in 2009. This is what Epoch Times reporters from U.S.A. to Italy discovered when they asked locals around the world, “What was the big news story in your country in 2009?”
Canary Islands, Spain
Maria del Carmen Lopez Galan, 31, Financial Consultant
No doubt, that for me and for most citizens of Spain, the big news story in my country in 2009 has been the economic and financial crisis, or crash, as you prefer to name it. Though the crisis emerged explosively in 2009, nobody is able to predict the end of it, and though in certain parts of the world there seem to be signs of recovery, I think it’s still a long way to go before we can say that everything is over. Added to this, I´d like to point out the slow reaction to the global crisis of the government of my country, Spain. The actions taken after everything burst out have arrived late and proof of this is that Spain is not showing any sign of recovery, though other European countries are beginning to emit some good signals via improved unemployment rates, or gross domestic product compared to previous months.
Maria del Carmen Lopez Galan, 31, Financial Consultant
No doubt, that for me and for most citizens of Spain, the big news story in my country in 2009 has been the economic and financial crisis, or crash, as you prefer to name it. Though the crisis emerged explosively in 2009, nobody is able to predict the end of it, and though in certain parts of the world there seem to be signs of recovery, I think it’s still a long way to go before we can say that everything is over. Added to this, I´d like to point out the slow reaction to the global crisis of the government of my country, Spain. The actions taken after everything burst out have arrived late and proof of this is that Spain is not showing any sign of recovery, though other European countries are beginning to emit some good signals via improved unemployment rates, or gross domestic product compared to previous months.
New York City, U.S.A.
Edwin Diaz, 22, Starbucks Barista
The Economy. That was just the biggest issue that’s been going on; that’s still going on. That’s the issue Obama has to tackle first, and it affects everyone. The Tiger Woods issue was a big story, but it was not important.
Edwin Diaz, 22, Starbucks Barista
The Economy. That was just the biggest issue that’s been going on; that’s still going on. That’s the issue Obama has to tackle first, and it affects everyone. The Tiger Woods issue was a big story, but it was not important.
Gothenburg, Sweden
Karina Ekstrand, 44, Journalist and Health Personnel
I think the news story of the year was that Swedish Crown Princess Victoria got engaged. Also the Saab business.
[Note: GM (General Motors) finally made the decision to close down Saab after trying to sell the company for half a year.]
Karina Ekstrand, 44, Journalist and Health Personnel
I think the news story of the year was that Swedish Crown Princess Victoria got engaged. Also the Saab business.
[Note: GM (General Motors) finally made the decision to close down Saab after trying to sell the company for half a year.]
Pisa, Italy
Claudio Scarpellini, 48, ‘Traveling’ Antique Dealer
What has impressed me more is the earthquake that shook Abruzzo in Italy. Other important things happened, but I remember it more. It affected a large part of L’Aquila City, but Onna City completely disappeared off the map. Aquila is an important historical city and it experienced great losses to its cultural heritage. A lot of people died; many were seriously wounded. Many people lost everything—their houses, work, etc. It is spoken of a lot; the people who lost their houses, the reconstruction of L’Aquila and other cities, the future of the people, and how other people could help Abruzzo, the reconstruction of its cultural heritage, etc.
[Note: On April 6, 2009, an earthquake of 5.8 on the Richter scale shook central Italy at 3:30 a.m., causing serious damage in the mountainous Abruzzo region east of Rome. The epicenter was in L’Aquila, a picturesque Medieval fortress hill town. As a result, 307 people died, 70,000 were transferred to other towns, with 28,000 living in temporary housing.]
Claudio Scarpellini, 48, ‘Traveling’ Antique Dealer
What has impressed me more is the earthquake that shook Abruzzo in Italy. Other important things happened, but I remember it more. It affected a large part of L’Aquila City, but Onna City completely disappeared off the map. Aquila is an important historical city and it experienced great losses to its cultural heritage. A lot of people died; many were seriously wounded. Many people lost everything—their houses, work, etc. It is spoken of a lot; the people who lost their houses, the reconstruction of L’Aquila and other cities, the future of the people, and how other people could help Abruzzo, the reconstruction of its cultural heritage, etc.
[Note: On April 6, 2009, an earthquake of 5.8 on the Richter scale shook central Italy at 3:30 a.m., causing serious damage in the mountainous Abruzzo region east of Rome. The epicenter was in L’Aquila, a picturesque Medieval fortress hill town. As a result, 307 people died, 70,000 were transferred to other towns, with 28,000 living in temporary housing.]
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Lucas John, 48, Office Assistant
In my opinion, the biggest news story in 2009 was the Peshawar bomb blast in the local market, which killed over 100 people. The other news event that happened close after the Peshawar blast was the bomb blast in Lahore’s busy Moon Market. In both these blasts, women and children were killed along with men. When the terrorists were striking police and army facilities, it did not affect us as much, but after these two blasts, people are in much more fear. This Christmas season, our family did not do much shopping together. We would take turns going out to the markets because we did not want to take any chances. Going out to markets has become a constant source of tension.
Lucas John, 48, Office Assistant
In my opinion, the biggest news story in 2009 was the Peshawar bomb blast in the local market, which killed over 100 people. The other news event that happened close after the Peshawar blast was the bomb blast in Lahore’s busy Moon Market. In both these blasts, women and children were killed along with men. When the terrorists were striking police and army facilities, it did not affect us as much, but after these two blasts, people are in much more fear. This Christmas season, our family did not do much shopping together. We would take turns going out to the markets because we did not want to take any chances. Going out to markets has become a constant source of tension.
Lomianki (near Warsaw), Poland
Anna Bilska, 29, Forester
The biggest news recently was the gambling affair. In this year, there were many events and it’s hard to mention only one, because immediately another comes to my mind, but generally with year 2009, I will for sure associate the economic crisis.
Anna Bilska, 29, Forester
The biggest news recently was the gambling affair. In this year, there were many events and it’s hard to mention only one, because immediately another comes to my mind, but generally with year 2009, I will for sure associate the economic crisis.
Mt Tamborine, Australia
Russell Spratt, 41, Level 3 Mining Technician
The biggest news story was how Australia survived the economic crash throughout the world; we fared very well. It hasn’t really affected me because of the work I do, because I work in a gold mine. A lot of the other mines that I used to work at, coal, they all suffered. Our family was very fortunate that I held a job in the gold mine, and everything was sort of nice and rosy for us.
Russell Spratt, 41, Level 3 Mining Technician
The biggest news story was how Australia survived the economic crash throughout the world; we fared very well. It hasn’t really affected me because of the work I do, because I work in a gold mine. A lot of the other mines that I used to work at, coal, they all suffered. Our family was very fortunate that I held a job in the gold mine, and everything was sort of nice and rosy for us.
Look for the Global Q&A column every week. Epoch Times correspondents interview people around the world to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global realities. Next week’s global question: “Do you have a favorite local market? Describe what you like about it.”
