Precariousness and exile in the current Spanish youth. Speeches and journalistic reports of the crisis

Abstract

The vulnerability of this impoverished society is exemplified by spaces and precarious bodies, as shown in landscapes and figures portrayed in current, diverse journalistic and literary narratives. Financial crisis struck the Spanish youth hard, and they are suffering the worst social parameters of the European Union as a whole. Young people, gifted with the highest education level ever developed in Spain, find themselves in a precarious situation and -more often than not- are forced into exile. Their frustrating experience is telling of the current lack of expectations: they find it impossible to access a job that’s even remotely related to what they were educated for.

This article addresses the sociocultural circumstances that surround the discourse on young Spanish emigrants during the crisis of 2008. It is about understanding the imagery with which the media has represented these young, highly educated exiles. The narratives that surround the youth are presented and, in particular, two autobiographical stories of young emigrant journalists - their "life stories” - are analyzed to identify the parameters of the discourse, the way these exiled precarious youths are represented.