A racist event in September 2023 has been resolved with restorative justice and without the need to go to trial. The Ararteko of Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and Álava, which defends the rights of citizens in the face of the actions and public policies of the Basque administrations, has channelled the dialogue between the two parties. The social organization Zehar Errefuxiatuak informed the Ararteko that three people of Senegalese origin had been denied access to a night-time entertainment site in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The Ertzaintza did not open or investigate any conditions and the Legal Commission of the Eraberean Network, which belongs to the Basque Association of Collateral Refugees, promoted by the Basque Government, in coordination with ACCEM, which aims to improve the quality of life of refugees and migrants, decided to denounce “discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin”, as can be read on the web.

New method of agreement

Ararteko has pointed out that victims of very diverse damages and conflicts "had so far no other way than to go to judicial and administrative proceedings". The organization has proposed action to deal with conflicts and discrepancies from a new perspective, and its main objective is to work “without judgment and empathy”.

The Ararteko resolution states that the two parties have been satisfied with the outcome of the interview. “I never thought that one day I would be invited to hear from people, share my pain and sadness, which I have suffered for many years from racism since I came to Gasteiz,” said one of the people who have suffered discrimination. The owner of the site has emphasized that the dialogue has allowed "to understand from another point of view the suffering of immigration".

Both parties have apologized to each other: the owner has expressed solidarity “for all that they suffered that night”; and the partner of one of those affected, “for the consequences that the campaign “has caused on the servers of the establishment and on the owner”.

The owner of the premises and those affected, during the interview

In the words of the Ararteko, “in a fairly widespread perception, specific behaviors were repeated in some leisure establishments”. The event had a great social impact and a neighborhood initiative, called Rights without objection, was organized.

The owner of the site, in response to the complaints, decided to contact the City Hall of Vitoria-Gasteiz and requested the support of the “Equality Service and the Coexistence and Diversity Service”. The owner threatened to file a complaint for defamation and insults.

Faced with different discrepancies and attitudes, Eraberean contacted both sides and the network asked Ararteko to “consider whether it could intervene to enable a dialogue between the two sides”. The institution accepted the intervention, proposed a restorative circle to both parties and, once approved by both parties, they have met at the Ararteko headquarters to hold an interview with the help of the interventors. In the words of Ararteko, “the people affected and the rest of the participants were able to speak without restrictions and reach agreements so that this situation does not recur in the future.”