The truth is that it is not easy to find a solution in the middle of Navarre to be able to study in model D, at least as long as the policy of the Navarre government does not change. Fortunately, during the last three years, several parents of Mendigorria, Artajona and Larraga have found the way for their children to learn in Basque.

What is happening in the Izarbe area highlights the injustice of linguistic and educational policy in Navarre. The first wall of the maze not to learn Basque is the linguistic area. Since Gares is the only village in the mixed area of the region, in the local public school – in the private school, of course – it can be studied in model D. However, all the surrounding villages are in a non-Basque area – Añorbe, Obanos, Mendigorria and Artajona – and in their schools, although the Basque learning model A is the most chosen, there is no model D in the offer.

The educational area is the second wall of the maze. It is thanks to him that we can find incomprehensible situations. For example, the Añorbetarras which are 10 kilometres away pay for transport to model D and those of Mendigorria, which are 5 kilometres from Alto, have to pay for transport in their pocket, because they are not in the same school area. In this case, the educational area limits the free choice of the linguistic model.

The third wall of the maze is the distance to school offered by model D. More than one parent has to think twice what model to send to the child. Especially when there's school in the village itself, and that model that parents would like is about 5 or 10 kilometers away. In fact, when the child is 3 years old, it's not easy to send him out. On the contrary, when in a village the demand is totally favorable to model D, then the local school has no profitability. In the last two years, public schools in Mañeru and Cirauqui have had to close because the vast majority of parents have opted for model D. In this case, the citizens have had to suffer a double condemnation; in addition to losing the wealth provided by the public school, they have gained the discomfort of an unnecessary distance, since to learn Basque they have to go to Puente la Reina.

Many Navarros have become accustomed to this absolutely exclusive situation, making a thousand excuses not to recognise that they have less rights than other Navarros and Navarras. However, the denial of taxation is quite understandable in a people who have little self-esteem with regard to their own culture, such as ours. After all, this attitude is nothing more than a psychological defence.

Unfortunately, other walls of the maze are built by the people who have denied their rights. Fear of the loss of local school, because only four cats demand a model D, a myth in which the Castellanoparlantes will be marginalized in the future and a fear of changing such a natural and inevitable reality in all areas. But I will not dwell any longer on these miserable issues.

Three years ago, several parents of Mendigorría, Artajona and now of Larraga created the Biderra association. The objective was clear: to give an Euskaldun and public school to their children. Why limit the education that boys and girls receive to a model A that is unsuccessful? Or why not criticize the private, the public? Do we not deserve the rights of others? Overcoming the society of individualism, they began the process of auzolan and along the way they had the collaboration of the Sortzen Ikasbatuaz association.
To try to resolve the problem, they addressed the Parliament of Navarre with a request for flexibility. The proposals that were made were: to have a subsidy for the payment of transportation, then promoted by Pérez Niovo, as was happening in Noáin; to change the school area from Tafalla to Puente la Reina or to share both things – although the support of the municipalities of Mendigorría and Artajona was essential the yes of the Education Advisor – to put the D model in one of the localities; not having the code Despite the fact that the request was made with complete flexibility, the response of the majority of Parliament’s political forces – UPN and PSN – rejected all the options with a tenacious and unmoving attitude.

No, no, I have learned that Biderra intends to return soon to the Parliament of Navarra, with a new request for flexibility, to tackle this absurd oppression of rights. In the meantime, they will continue to organize a festival in favor of model D, to be able to meet the expenses of school transportation of their sons and daughters and to continue to make a journey through the region of Ondalana of sensitization towards the Basque country. Next year, on 22 April, the festival will be held in Larraga and the influx is expected to be greater than ever. It is now up to us all to hold the end with force and unity, to see if we finally see rays of light in the darkness of this maze. Navarro de Ariadne.