One night a few months ago, my friends and I were at a pub in Aberystwyth. I don’t remember any specific details about that night. There was nothing unusual or memorable about most of it. We had followed our usual itinerary of pubs and clubs before heading to the final stop. It was late, around 2AM. One of my friends is Welsh, and we somehow got around to talking about our shared experiences. This is something that usually happens when we’re drunk. We develop a burning pride for our country and a casual disdain for our English friends.
She started singing the Welsh national anthem.
I stared at her. She wore an expectant expression, and asked me to sing it.
I didn’t know the words to the song.
Embarrassment flushed through me. How could I call myself Welsh and not know Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau? Welsh people sing it at every major sporting event. Rugby, football, everything. They teach it in primary schools across the country. Almost everyone in the country knows what it goes like. Wales is a majority English-speaking country, but most people know the words to the national anthem. Until recently, I did not know how it went. I learned the most commonly-sung part. Not only to avoid embarrassment, but because as a Welsh person I need to know it.
Over the past few weeks, I have thought about my identity as a Welsh person. I once considered it a simple fact. Just a nationality, another categorisation. But a country is so much more than that. Wales is so much more than that. If you’ve read my blog post about my hometown, you’ll understand that I hate the place where I was born and raised. But I do not hate my country. I once believed that you couldn’t be proud of your country if you’re not proud of where you are from within it. Now, I understand that is false. I thought it was all like Bridgend. That changed when I left and moved to Aberystwyth. There’s a beautiful country beyond my hometown. There’s a beautiful world beyond my country.
I never hated Wales – I just didn’t think about it before I left my hometown. Part of me must have cherished Wales though, as I decided to stay in the country for university. I had other options. My other university choices were Cardiff, Bristol, Reading, and Exeter. The latter three are in England. I could have moved to England for university. But I didn’t. Something told me to choose Aberystwyth and stay in Wales. So I did. I do not regret that at all. I could not have made a better choice. I am staying in my home country. It is part of who I am. Our home country is a crucial part of our identity. The culture we grow up around, the traditions we follow from a young age, the language we speak… all that is essential to our personalities. I stayed in Wales because part of me knew that is what I wanted to do.
Recently, I began learning Welsh again. They teach the language in secondary schools across the country. It is a major subject. But my experiences with Welsh in secondary school made me hate the language. Our teachers were too strict. They removed any possibility of joy or fulfilment from learning it. A few years passed in which I did not want to associate myself with the language. Seeing anything written in Welsh triggered flashbacks to the subject in school. I stopped studying it about four or five years ago. It has been enough time. I realise now that Welsh is a beautiful language. One we must share and preserve. It is not a dying language. It is growing in usage across the country. As it should.
I am not at all fluent in Welsh. Nowhere near. But I am combining Duolingo lessons with Welsh-language media. I am getting there. Learning a language is a long and steady process. It is one that doesn’t end. I may start writing in Welsh soon. I want to do all I can to keep the language going.
Of course, there’s the issue of independence. Our past is inextricably tied with the English. Any outsider who says that Wales is a part of England is wrong. We are a different country. The ‘United Kingdom’ consists of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Scotland is holding a referendum in 2023 to become independent from the UK. Wales should be next. The UK is not England; it is a cluster of four countries each with their own distinct cultures. Wales is not England. Scotland is not England. Northern Ireland is not England.
We rely too much on Westminster. Our status as a sovereign state is undermined because we always get lumped in with England. Wales is a distinct country. We should occupy our own place in the world. I am unsure if Wales can support itself if it goes independent at this moment. But within a few years, our economy may again reach a point where we can survive as an individual country. About five years from now, Wales could go independent. Some organisations are pushing for independence now, like Plaid Cymru and Yes Cymru. We must soon leave the ‘United Kingdom’. It is no longer united in any way except geography. The Union is dead. Wales and Scotland both want independence from the English. I am not educated enough on the Irish issue, but maybe they wish to go independent too.
It is not about division. Creating issues for the English is not the purpose of going independent. There are so many reasons for Wales to detach itself from the ‘United Kingdom’. We could improve transportation and infrastructure in our own country. We could allow our language and culture to flourish. We could create a Welsh constitution and a custom immigration system. We would become part of an international community of diverse countries. There are so many advantages and benefits to going independent.
But I do not want to lapse into nationalism. We are not superior to other countries. Wales is not the best country in the world (there is no such thing). History teaches us that pride can easily become extreme nationalism. That often leads to conflict and disaster. We must respect other countries and cultures. Our country is our country. Nowhere else.
I once thought that being proud of your country meant you were ignorant. That is not true. Wales is a beautiful country, and I want to represent it through my writing.
I must become a better Welsh citizen.
Diolch am ddarlen.
‘Thank you for reading.’
Iestyn Tudor 