Vocabulary

Video

Transcript

Wanted: People to relocate to the picturesque town of Prat de Comte. Population: 180. Trade traffic and pollution for mountain fresh air; crowded classrooms for a school of nine students.

There is no hospital, police, or fire department. And forget about a 5G network.

When Virginie Benhamou responded to an advertisement to move here, she was lured by the job of managing this nine-room hostel. She and her seven-year-old daughter, Lov, arrived in January.

Virginie Benhamou, Ca La Jepa Hostel Manager: “I recommend everything. Me, always, I lived in a big city, and for me, it’s the first time, but I’m very happy. Maybe because it was my dream, maybe I’m feeling good here, I don’t know, but I hope it will be for many years.”

Lov can roam and play in the village without the safety concerns of a city, but she also has fewer playmates — and a 30-minute drive to go swimming in the winter.

Lov Perez Benhamou, Daughter: “I prefer to have more kids because then I have more friends.”

According to government statistics, half of Spain’s municipalities are in danger of losing their population. These are primarily towns of less than 1,000 people. However, data shows this issue is not just confined to rural areas; people are also moving out of provincial capitals and small to medium-sized cities.

To reverse the trend, this year the European Union gave Spain more than 11 billion dollars for a re-population program. The goal is to provide small towns with more basic services, high-speed internet, and funding for housing and job creation.

Montse Subirats, City Council Member: “Here you can have a childhood that you will remember all your life. The kids are on the street alone, relate to people from all ages, we have mountains, and the education is high quality.”

Benhamou and her daughter are now part of the first population boom in Prat de Comte since 2015. Thirteen people have moved here in the last year. The advertisement campaign seems to be working.

Natasha Ghoneim, Al Jazeera, Prat de Comte, Spain.

Questions

 
Rural Area. The officials and residents of Prat de Comte are suspicious of outsiders; they dislike strangers. True or false?

Country, Countryside. Is the town very lively with a fast-paced lifestyle?

Farm, Farmhouse. Is Virginie a local? Did she grow up on a farm? In Prat de Comte, does she raise and harvest lemons, limes, oranges and tangerines?

Village. How do the town children feel? Do they have mixed feelings?

Town. The whole of Spain is experiencing a population boom. Is this right or wrong?

City, Urban Area. Brussels does not care about small, semi-abandoned, semi-ghost towns; they are only concerned with big industrial, financial, high-tech and tourist places. Is this correct or incorrect?

City Center, Downtown. What is the solution to shrinking villages? How can they become more attractive?

Main Plaza. Is the report optimistic, pessimistic, both, neither, in the middle?
 
 
 

Quarter, District. Do you live in a village, town or city? Do you know anyone who lives in a village?

Suburbs, Residential Area. Are villages and towns increasing in size, decreasing or remaining the same? Are they growing, shrinking or remaining the same?

Metropolitan Area. There are many ghost villages in my country. Yes or no? Have you been to a ghost village? What does it feel like? Describe the atmosphere.

Megalopolis. I would like to live in a small village. Would your friends like to live in a village?

Region, Province. What might happen in the future?

Nation, Country. What could or should people, businesses and governments do?