We lit a candle and finished our meal in complete darkness and silence.
On April 28, the so-called Great Blackout plunged the entire Iberian Peninsula into darkness. For more than ten hours, we were completely disconnected, unable to make phone calls or access the internet. Some fortunate individuals managed to find old transistor radios powered by batteries to catch news updates, but my partner, our six-month-old daughter, and I were not among them. As night fell, fear and uncertainty loomed.
From time to time, a lone car or a few pedestrians with flashlights passed our window. One could only imagine the silence enveloping other systems: burglar alarms silent, security cameras blinded, and no way to contact police. Such conditions might have tempted criminals to take advantage of the blackout to break into homes, businesses, or isolated areas. Yet, remarkably, no such breaches occurred.
Far from a nightmare, the Great Blackout felt like a shared dream inhabited by kindness and goodwill. Ordinary citizens stepped up, directing traffic where signals were out, offering water and food to passengers stranded on halted trains, and taxi drivers, unable to process card payments, shared their phone numbers so fares could be settled later.
Transportation was severely disrupted—trains stalled, buses failed to arrive, and subways stood still. Yet, some schools extended hours to ensure children were not left waiting alone. Hospitals, operating on generators, continued to provide care uninterrupted. Without mobile phones, children and teenagers gathered in groups reminiscent of bygone days. Strangers met in the streets to converse or share a beer, while makeshift signs reminded people to “drink it before it warms up.”
Everywhere I looked, the day unfolded peacefully. People met the blackout with humor and, surprisingly, a sense of joy. There was an unspoken confidence that all would be well—no muggings, no chaos, no violence. This was no apocalyptic scenario but a testament to calm, generosity, and the dedication of public servants and workers.
Perhaps this experience highlights a fundamental contrast: the growing emphasis on individualism in some parts of the world versus the trust and community spirit nurtured by the European welfare state. In this moment of crisis, we found reassurance in one another—that support and solidarity are our strongest defenses, and that together, we can face uncertainty with courage.
