Alexander Urbano’s first memory of ETA – 18 years old, a FP student in Errenteria – is a meme they sent him about Carrero Blanco. That of Uxue Ruiz, a social worker from Sestao, 23 years old: the Atocha attacks of 11-M. “I was in the car with my father and the radio kept saying that ETA was to blame … then it turned out not.” From the end of the band, Iván Izaguirre —20 years old, from Astigarraga, “a very pro-independence town” – remembers seeing “the hooded men” on TV, and his mother saying “it was time”.
Eleven young people who were around 10 years old when ETA announced the definitive cessation of violence have lent themselves to tell what they know about the terrorist gang (in general, not much) and what the Basque conflict means in their lives (in general, not too much either). It was not easy to find them. A dozen Basque educational centers, as well as countless young people contacted randomly on the street or through acquaintances, declined to participate in this report. “Buf, is that many will have no idea, and then people talk about whether you said this or that”, justified two girls who did not want to give their name in front of Deusto.
And that despite the fact that those who did want to participate affirm that there is no longer “a taboo”. They do admit that it is still “a sensitive issue.” “There are people who suffered it who are still alive, it depends with whom it may be difficult to talk about it,” says Joane Guerediaga, 19, an International Relations student. “The other person may have a family member in prison or have their grandfather killed … but talking about it and remembering the story is good,” Uxue thinks. “Something that caused pain is not usually something you like to talk about,” says Unai Muñoz, 22, a nursing student, however.
On video: When was the first time you heard about ETA?
Most believe that ETA ended because it lost the support “of the people.” The first thing everyone repeats is that it was born to “fight against Francoism”, some add “and against the oppression of the Basque people” or “for the freedom of Euskal Herria”. They explain their origins as a protest group “that took the wrong path.” They know that Carrero Blanco died in an attack. Of other victims, they know only Miguel Ángel Blanco, and some of them are familiar with Irene Villa. Of terrorists, hardly one mentions the name of Iñaki Bilbao. Only a couple know what the LAGs were, an organization the rest have never heard of. And two are capable of encrypting the number of victims around a thousand. “How many dead? I don’t know, too many in any case ”, responds Joselyn Cunalema, 23, who arrived from Ecuador 17 years ago, and found out“ what was happening ”when one night she saw that“ some vandals were painting on the walls of the boulevard and there was a lot of scared people ”.
Despite having lived through the backlash of the conflict as children, they consider it a thing of the past. Germán Navascués, 19, Political Science student: “It has been a dark time, everyone is grateful that it is over, and they wanted to turn the page, it is not a topic that must be touched in the sense that it is no longer relevant , today Basque society is concerned about the covid, about European funds … ”Some have seen Maixabel, the series Homeland or ETA: The end of silence, but many believe that putting ETA in the public debate only interests politicians. “They talk about ETA even though it is no longer active for pure politicking, to grab votes from people who have hurt,” says Iñaki Asua, 22.
All 11 agree that the subject should have been better explained to them. “I have a vague memory of talking about it in class, but the teacher didn’t want to get involved either …”, says Unai. “It ended when we were little, and even then we don’t have any knowledge. As the generations go by it will remain as something that happened in the 1200 ″. Joane, for whom “anyone who does not know the history of his people is condemned to repeat it”, regrets that he only has “one year to give the entire history of Spain.” “In the end, only a song or two touch on the matter and you find out from what you hear on the street,” he explains. Javier Izquierdo, 21, an automotive student, looked for what he did not learn in school “by asking relatives and acquaintances, on the Internet or by watching series.” “In the institute they have explained everything to us very above,” he says. “The little I know I have learned from friends who support the issue,” says Berta Barrachina, 21, born in Barcelona and has lived in Donosti since the two of them.
On video: How did you learn what you know about ETA?
“With ETA the phenomenon that occurred with the Civil War is replicated”, reflects the philosopher Martín Alonso Zarza. “This episode in the history of Spain has hardly been part of the socialization of students during education. The void is replaced by mythological constructions that come from the side of memory and not from the side of history ”.
In the centers, the application of the curriculum of the Department of Education is voluntary. The delegitimization of violence and empathy with the victims are worked on in a generic way in primary school and a little more in depth in ESO, although ETA only appears explicitly in the fourth syllabus: The need for a critical memory in relation to ETA terrorism and any form of terrorism, Birth of ETA and its history, or GAL and other groups are the titles to be debated in History or Philosophy.
This course is being taught in several centers by the Herenegun pedagogical units (the day before yesterday), which will be extended to the entire Basque system in 2022-23, a material that has generated controversy, since victims’ associations considered that it justified the band in its first versions.
On video: Is it a taboo subject?
Currently, “the subject is taught in the classrooms as one more phenomenon within the Franco regime, such as labor unrest,” laments historian José Antonio Pérez, a professor at the University of the Basque Country who this week again verified that students arrive at the university with a “very vague notion” of what ETA has supposed. He discussed the matter with first-year students as a result of the irruption of an armed young man on the Leioa campus (Bizkaia): to be escorted, it sounded like Chinese ”. “The subject is not taught with the necessary detail, beyond the fact that there are teachers who on their own and with their involvement treat it in greater depth,” he complains.
The high school teacher in Bizkaia Javier Peso, one of the few teachers who has wanted to talk about his experience, affirms that in the classrooms it is treated “as just another historical event, without any reflective tone”. “We have turned the page without having read the page. It didn’t have to be that way. ” Aitor (fictitious name), a high school teacher in Gipuzkoa, maintains that among the teachers there are “many reluctance and disdain” to deal with the recent past of Euskadi: “Most of them limit themselves to giving the four basic notions: the origin of ETA, the louder attacks and little else; without entering into the immorality that his terrorist activity entailed ”. In many cases, the parents of the students, adds this history teacher, prefer to “ignore” this question and are in favor of “making a clean slate.” At an institute in Oiartzun, they opposed the victims going to tell their testimony, he says.
In video: What is left of ETA?
Marta Buesa, one of the daughters of the socialist politician Fernando Buesa, assassinated by the gang in 2001, participates in the Adi-adian (be alert) program that has brought the testimonies of ETA victims, the GALs, to 25,000 high school and university students. and police abuses. “In the public, the adherence is lower than in the concerted”, he assures, “and the experience is very good, some come up afterwards and give you a hug, or they tell you that they have understood the dimension of this pain.” Its objective is “to consolidate the concept of delegitimization”. “In the Basque Country and Navarra, a special effort must be made because the kids can still find themselves painted that encourage the band or a ongi etorri (welcome) to any of its members when they are released, ”he explains.
The 11 interviewees have had more contact with relatives of prisoners than with victims. Some have discussed the subject at home, although most only commenting on the news or personal anecdotes. “All I know is thanks to my parents,” says 16-year-old Ane Rioboo, the youngest. “Yes, they have spoken to me, although they did not sit me down as for other issues,” says Germán. They are the only two who know what the LAGs were.
Almost everyone agrees that what remains in 2021 is the pain of all parties and the prejudice against the Basques: even people of their age have asked them if they are “pro-ETA” when saying they were Basques. Do you feel that 10 years later ETA’s wound is still open? “It generated a division that is slowly closing, but there is still a way to go,” says Iván. Unai points out: “The wound is almost closed, but it is something that is no longer talked about. A little is left there ”.
With information from: Mikel Ormazabal, Pedro Gorospe and Mario de Jaime.