A YOUNG Catalan activist who received a standing ovation when she spoke about the plight of jailed politicians from her nation at the 2019 SNP conference is hoping to get elected to Holyrood next year.
Valentina Servera Clavell addressed thousands of party members after she put down an emergency motion to the event following the sentencing of Catalan politicians over their roles in the 2017 independence referendum, including former vice-president Oriel Junqueras to 13 years.
The 21-year-old went on to address The National’s independence rally in Glasgow in November and joined First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the SNP’s General Election campaign battle bus ahead of polling day in December.
Servera Clavell moved to Barcelona after her family were evicted from their home in Valencia when she was 12. She joined the political party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya at 15 and was active in the Catalan independence vote.
Servera Clavell moved from Barcelona to Glasgow in June 2017 after getting to know activists from the Young Scots for Independence organisation (YSI) when they visited Catalonia in 2016.
Her mother, Gisela Clavell, was later diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly, a few months after her mother’s recovery, her father Pep Servera died from a heart attack last year.
Currently the international officer for YSI and the president of the youth wing of the European Free Alliance, she is currently studying for a BA in multimedia journalism at Glasgow Caledonian University.
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“We are seeing a lot of young women come into frontline politics and as a young immigrant I think my election would send a strong message about how inclusive Scotland is,” Servera Clavell said.
“I couldn’t have afforded to go to university in Barcelona and if you can’t go to university you are pretty much done. You don’t have many options and I wanted to do more.
“I think it’s horrible that in a first-world country such as the UK we have families who don’t have enough food. We as a government should make sure that doesn’t happen.
“Having come from such a difficult background and having to grow up as fast as I did, I want to get into Holyrood to be voice for those who are forgotten.”
Servera Clavell added: “The majority of our Parliament is white and middle class. We have not got the representation we deserve. I am white looking but Hispanic raised. As a New Scot I love Scotland and I am proud it is my home but I also don’t forget I am a Catalan.”
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