Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would know that this has been Wales’ first world cup since 1958. To put that into perspective, it’s been 64 years, and to put that into context, England’s men’s last international trophy was 58 years ago!
Sorry, had to say it…
As it’s our first world cup for that long, it’s important to note the political changes that have occurred since.
Wales, back then, wasn’t devolved. It was a region of the UK, which had an office in Cardiff, called the Welsh Office, which couldn’t legislate laws for the country. Its main job was to stamp the red dragon onto documents, to solidify them into the Welsh Landscape.
Now, since then, we have the Senedd or the Welsh Parliament, and our culture and identity as a nation have long changed.
By identity, I mean Welsh Identity, or rather, the lack of a singular ‘British Identity, being the main source of the description of those who live in the country.
Since Devolution, Wales has started the journey, of becoming a Self-Governing and confident nation, an aspiration nation, to which many across the world hold us dearly as. A distinct and unique, small but fiery land, filled with joy and song, and of course, our sports teams, most notably the male and female football teams.
(I won’t say anything about the rugby for now…)
The impact that the Welsh FA has had on us as a nation cannot be underestimated, and is still, in my opinion, not widely discussed.
It has led to the revival of the Welsh identity, in an increasingly dystopian, post-Brexit, patriotic UK. It’s become a massive, progressive, and proud organisation, that’s made an incredible impact on the Welsh football scene and to a massive extent, our political scene, by bringing in Dafydd Iwan, to sing his already famous song within the Welsh Speaking circles, Yma o Hyd.
The song was originally a protest song, against Thatcherism, but it’s most importantly seen as a song that stands out among the Welsh Music world, as it celebrates the survival of Wales and the Welsh language.
The words ‘Yma o Hyd’ translate to ‘We’re still here, and it references the years of hardship the nation, culture, and Language, have faced.
Although the song was written in the 1980s, while the discussion about Wales’ place in the world was ongoing, it is still relevant today.
Even today, I still receive xenophobic or racist remarks about the Welsh language, my language. Of course, I expect to receive them elsewhere, but even in my capital city, I’ve been looked at oddly when speaking it, and heard people make comments about how funny the word ‘coch’ sounds, because it sounds looks like a word for, well, something else…
I’ve had numerous, childish incidents where people have told me that my language reminds them of someone scraping over a keyboard, or that when people realise, I’m a Welsh Speaker; they immediately make jokes about how we sound when we speak Welsh. I’m of course, up for a well-made joke, I’ve even made sheep ones myself. But I’ll just ask one question, it would be assumed to be racist to make fun of the sound of Arabic, Chinese, Indian or any other language in fact, why is it ok to do it for the Welsh Language?
After a lifetime of it, it goes from being vaguely humorous, to just boring, and depressing.
Of course, this does not describe all those who aren’t Welsh, as ignorant racists, but it tends to happen, often, sadly, and it’s not an issue that doesn’t seem to be getting attention.
All you have to do is look at the attitude of some on Twitter towards the Welsh mountain, Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), being called it’s Welsh and native name in law, and you’ll see what I mean…
Back to the identity bit.
My first thought about what nationality I was, came from the London 2012 Olympics, ironically a celebration of the UK and its achievements. I remember distinctively wanting a Team GB tracksuit, and my mum (who grew up during the Welsh Language campaigns in the ’70s, and then the famous Second Home fires) defiantly telling me “No, you’re Welsh”.
Since then, there has been no doubt, about who I am.
The song and the Welsh Football team have linked up to provide a clear, robust message – Wales is here, and we’re here to stay.
And through this, the discussion about Wales and the Welsh language has been revived, through people starting to feel Welsh, rather than British. Of course, there are elements from catalysts such as the Scottish Independence movement, and the whole shambles regarding Northern Ireland, adding to the likelihood of Irish Unification. But the situation is rapidly developing, politics change things before we realise what’s happened.
Therefore, I believe we, the Welsh, need to have this discussion now. Who are we?
Are we British? (Well, if you go back enough, we were the original Britons, but now the term has a new meaning).
Possibly one of the most important Welsh Politicians; Gwynfor Evans, stated that” Britishness is a political synonym for Englishness which extends its culture over the Scots, Welsh and the Irish”; and from my own, first-hand personal experience, I would agree with him.
To begin with the obvious, Wales was annexed into this union, which starts things off with a slightly sinister tone.
Everything that is described as British, for me. tends to have no attachment to Wales.
Everything important to me, culturally, such as my language, my music choice, and even my flag is not represented by the over-arching ‘Britishness’. We aren’t even on the Union Jack!
We’re told consistently that the UK is an equal union but how can it be an equal union, when a politician describes the Welsh language in Parliament, as a ‘foreign language’?
Of course, my experience regarding the Welsh Language is most likely different to those who don’t speak it, but my experiences will resonate with thousands, who’ve grown up subscribing themselves as Welsh.
Now, the Welsh football team has sparked the conversion, from a small flame, into a large fire that sits proudly in our national consciousness, about whom do we want to be.
Most Welsh fans will know the Famous ‘Viva Gareth Bale’ chant, which was at one point sung by the whole stadium in one game I went to. The reason this chant is famous is because of its Pro-Welsh identity, as it’s a rejection of the UK or British identity, which is in itself, similar to Yma O hyd.
I was in Wrexham on Saturday, and people came up to me and my dad, joyed with the fact we could speak Welsh, but also on numerous occasions, sad and guilt-ridden they couldn’t.
A couple of years ago, even before 2016, that might have never happened.
There is an emerging spirit of a Welsh National Identity, and that was the point of this article, to demonstrate the fact that we are here, and ever-growing. But it’s also an article to allude to the importance of this debate, and the speed in which we need to have it, after all, the Scots might be choosing to jump ship as soon as 2023, and Ireland unified in the future.
It’s time Wales think, are we jumping to save our nation, and look optimistically to the future with our Celtic cousins and England, as separate distinct nations; or will we stay, and be drowned in the chaos, of the inevitable ending, of the Political Union of the United Kingdom.
Sources:
Jacob Rees-Mogg calls Welsh a ‘foreign language’ and compares it to Latin (nation.cymru)
Images:
Union and Welsh Flags: This file was derived from: Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg: Flag of Wales.svg:, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Senedd: eNil, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Politics Unboxed 