Maite zaitut, Euskal Herria

Bay of Biscay, looking towards Sopelana and Urduliz

It should be no surprise to anyone, at least to anybody who knows me well enough and follows me on various blogging platforms: previously LiveJournal, Tumblr, here on Blogspot... that I have incontrovertible, biased pro-Basque tendencies and opinions.  I may have only spent two and a half years living in the Basque Country, but everything I experienced, learned, and saw has affected me forever.  When my family moved to Andalusia in 2001, just after I started school in Germany, they came face-to-face with the opinions and beliefs of those from outside the Basque Country.  My parents have stories of talking to people in Málaga who, when explained that they'd just moved there from Bilbao, asked "How in the world could you have lived with those terrorists?"  Another time, my dad was yelled at by a police officer at the parking lot of the Rosaleda stadium, home of Málaga CF, where he was doing repairs on our van, which still boasted Bilbao license plates.  After that, he applied to get new ones, which eliminated any regional association as the new Spanish plates had nothing denominating them from a certain province as the old ones had.


The reference to Basques being terrorists is far from shocking.  The Basque Country is, after all, home of the terrorist organization ETA, an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, Basque Country and Liberty, which exists to promote and defend the independence of the Basque Country from Spain.  They've been in existence since July 31, 1959 (which is, funny enough, my birthday --it is also the saint day of Saint Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church, who was Basque--) and while originally founded as an intellectual organization for Basque university students to promote their language, culture and history, soon snowballed into a terrorist organization that has carried out over 300 killings.  Just last October, on the same day that Muammar Gaddhafi was killed in Libya, they announced a permanent end to their violence.  ETA has terrorized Spaniards and Frenchmen practically since the beginning.  And thanks to politics, they are the bogeyman of Spanish and French governments, especially Spanish, and even those Basques who condemn terrorism, are therefore forever guilty by association.

Basque mountains near Gernika

It's something that infuriates me on a personal level.  I spent two and a half years living among Basques. I went to school with them, even learned some of their immensely complex language (I can understand bits and pieces, but am incapable of expressing myself in it in anything other than basic phrases).  My best friend, while adamantly defending herself as not being Basque at all and derides Basque provincialism, has a Basque name.  What infuriates me about the automatic assumption that all Basques are terrorists is that I can say, without a hint of doubt and speaking from personal and cultural experience, that not all Basques are terrorists and that the Basque Country is not one of the most violent places on Earth.  I've had to console friends whose host parents in Valladolid were concerned for her safety as we were planning a trip to Bilbao and reminded her that I spent two and a half years living there and not once feared for my life.  The truth is, the Basque Country is not at all as violent as it is portrayed by the Spanish media or the media in general.  Yes, ETA is (or was) an incredibly dangerous organization who has killed hundreds of people in the name of freedom and independence.  And their actions are condemned, albeit usually not publicly, by most Basques.  ETA is a real, ever-present problem in the lives of ordinary Basques.

But it is hardly the only thing that goes on in the Basque Country.  Even given my limited travel experience, I am convinced that the Basque Country, or Euskal Herria as it is known in Euskera, the Basque language, is one of, if not the most, beautiful places on Earth.  Its hilly, extremely rugged landscape has helped to keep it virtually uninvaded by other groups over the centuries.  The Romans didn't even conquer the Basques; they simply let them live and let live, occasionally exploiting the immense iron ore reserves for their own use.  The Moors couldn't even get past the mountains of the Cantabrian range in the beginnings of the 8th century when they invaded the Iberian Peninsula.  It is still immensely rural, and while most of the population does live in the major cities of Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián (referred to by Basques solely as "Donosti"), and Vitoria-Gasteiz, a significant portion is still predominantly agricultural, working in either farming or fishing.

Bermeo

The Basques rarely discuss politics.  This is mostly for fear of retaliation by ETA, and also because, in general, they are a very quiet people.  This often gives the impression, especially to those in the rest of Spain, especially along the coast, as being cold and even arrogant.  In reality, they just like to keep to themselves.  It takes a long time to forge a friendship with a Basque, but once you have, you have a friend for life.  Basques never forget you.  Once you've had a home in the Basque Country, you have one forever.  This is my main reason for loving it so much.  I know that no matter where I am in the world, I will always have a place to stay in a small but comfortable apartment in Algorta.  I will always have friends and people who know me and care about me.  No matter how alone I feel, I know that there are people who are wondering what I'm up to and who would love to see me again, no matter how long it takes for me to get up there.

While I am incredibly aware of the dangers of Euskadi --my best friend's apartment complex was bombed in late 1999 by ETA; a bomb was placed in the communal parking garage and as her family lived on the first floor, they had to be evacuated from their apartment for a full six months-- I find it impossible to believe any of the negativity surrounding the people and the region.  I am aware of the historical, cultural and linguistic nuances of the area and for this I do defend the creation of an independent Basque state, insofar as it is done democratically, reasonably, and without the slightest hint of terrorism.   I am also well aware of the fact that it is also highly unlikely to occur.  The Basque Country is one of the richest regions of Europe and were the least hit of all the areas going through the severe economic recession rocking most of the Western world.  Their GDP is equivalent to that of Luxemburg.  Spain is highly unwilling to let such an economic powerhouse out of their grasp, same goes for Catalunya.

Butrón Castle, just outside Gatika

I really just want to go on record and say that I hope everyone refuses to believe the bullcrap about the Basque Country being terrorist-laden and evil.  It is dark, due to getting an average of 10 months of rain during the year, and when it's not raining it's usually cloudy and drizzly, plagued by something the Basques call zirimiri, a kind of misty rain.  But it is hardly terrorist-laden and evil.  It is misunderstood, and thanks to Spanish politics most people from outside the region have a hard time seeing Basques as anything other than terrorists.  I once had to tell someone who explained that her host mom in Valladolid told her that she didn't trust the immigrants because they were tied to ETA that her host mom was clueless.  Maybe I could have had a bit more tact when explaining the truth, but really, I will always defend the Basques to the death.  They may be eerily and suspiciously quiet about their true feelings for ETA to outsiders for fear of retribution (ETA is well-known to silence its critics with bullets or explosions), but it is my belief that most of them, while many are in favor of an independent Euskadi, also denounce ETA's violence.  This silence leads them, quite unjustly, to be targets of discrimination.

That's not to say there aren't Basques who support ETA.  Oh, there are.  There are enough of them to form political parties around, despite the fact that they keep getting banned by the Spanish government (democracy what?).  What I am saying, however, is that it is wrong, not to mention stupid, to judge an entire group of people by the terrorists that claim to represent them.  I refuse to believe that all Muslims support Al-Qaeda, for example.  And I will forever stand in defense of the people who welcomed my family and me into their homes, their lives, their schools.  Who showed us hospitality in a place we were unfamiliar with and who taught us their language and culture and history.  Who showed us that judging a book by its cover is dangerous even if we hadn't even seen the book yet.  Who introduced us, and me, to a beautiful and vibrant, even passionate, history of a people who have been overlooked and ignored and who are now discriminated against because of what's assumed to be a traditional penchant for violence thanks to the powers that be.  The Basque Country changed me.  And it will change everyone who gives it the chance to show its true colors.