Basque Country 'arigune'
When people in Euskal Herria are appointed who do not correctly dominate the Basque Country to be a member of the government, director of EITB or rector of the UPV/EHU, if there is no social and political scandal, it means that something is wrong and that the situation is really serious. And the government that does so will not use Euskaraldia again to justify its malpractice?
These days we have just heard the words of the Minister of Justice and French of Quebec, Simon Jolin-Barrette: “In the history of a nation there are moments that mark collective consciousness. This year we are celebrating one of those moments. 43 years ago, in 1977, the National Assembly of Quebec approved the Charter of the French Language.”
As Simon Jolin-Barrette explains, “43 years ago Quebec was French-speaking, today it is and should be in the future. It’s an unnegotiable principle,” despite the fact that in Quebec there are many who use English. Collective rights take precedence over individual rights. So far we have not met any president who said that in Euskal Herria about the Basque country. When will we recognize that Euskal Herria was and should be Basque until two centuries ago and that this is unnegotiable?
The leader of Quebequés admits it, in the year 101. The Language Law has changed their lives in many ways. “The French language has allowed Quebec to assert itself, sign up aloud and keep it online,” as the French became a tool to ensure social cohesion. French has not been a problem in Quebec, on the contrary, it has been the axis of its identity.
"They want us to believe that Euskera is a problem for cohesion, for the accumulation of forces, also for independence, some even from home"
In Euskal Herria, it was also during the Franco regime. Freedom, the Basque and Basque political project were the same in that thought and in that political struggle. One of the main contributions of ETA, 60 years ago, to the Basque People, that is, when it replaced the previously dominant Basque Fede-Erdaldun hegemonic of the PNV by Laizism-Socialist Vasco, the Basque Country and the Basque culture became the axis of our future liberating project. Where are we now? They want us to believe that Euskera is a problem for cohesion, for the accumulation of forces and also for independence, some even from home.
But forty-three years have passed and Quebec’s profile and needs have changed, also in the Basque Country. Please note that the globalisation of markets and the knowledge economy, the democratization of higher education, the interconnectivity of populations, the right to the transformation and organisation of workplaces… all influence the future of our own languages.
Like many other Quebequeses, the new data on the French language is of concern to the Government of Quebec. Progress has been made, but the slowdown comes, as in Euskal Herria. That's why they want to renew 101. Language Law. And in the Basque Country? What are we in the three administrative spaces that divide our country? We have made progress in Ipar Euskal Herria. In Hego Euskal Herria the process of normalization has slowed down, and we are going back on the use… In all this, what has to do is to see that the Basque Country is not yet official in the whole of the Basque Country and, therefore, does not have a national policy of reeuskaldunization. This is the political and social context of this second edition of Euskaraldia.
The French minister stressed that “over the past 40 years, talking about Quebec has meant talking about the native language, about our language. This French language, which is our hallmark of identity and which is at the heart of our identity over the centuries, allows us to say who we are and, above all, who we want to be around the world. This French language is the symbol of the affirmation of a culture that has been built with the contributions of all”. The thesis written years ago by sociolinguist Txepetx comes to mind: A future for our past (a future for our past). Is this reflected in the hegemonic political and social thinking of the current Basque Country? We do not believe. Unfortunately, today we look more like Ireland than Quebec. They got the Republic of Ireland, but they lost their language. Following Xalbador's thought, they got the body, but they lost the heart.
In Basque Country, everything is changing, and fast. We will have to review and change for the future what we were doing so far, both the strategic vision, as well as the legislation, the language policy, the behaviour of the public and private administration and the personal and collective linguistic practice of the Basques. Euskaraldia can help us, as we said in the book of Commitment 100 of the Free Territory, uniting personal commitment (Ahobizi or Belarriprest) with collective commitment (Arigune).
No one will save us if we do not save ourselves. As we said 41 years ago at EHE, now too we have to say, the time has come for the second revolt of the Basques. Let's make Euskal Herria Arigune!
* Joseba Álvarez, militant of the Left Abertzale
Bidali zure iritzi artikuluak iritzia@argia.eus helbide elektronikora
ARGIAk ez du zertan bat etorri artikuluen edukiarekin. Idatzien gehienezko luzera 4.500 karakterekoa da (espazioak barne). Idazkera aldetik gutxieneko zuzentasun bat beharrezkoa da: batetik, ARGIAk ezin du hartu zuzenketa sakona egiteko lanik; bestetik, egitekotan edukia nahi gabe aldatzeko arriskua dago. ARGIAk azaleko zuzenketak edo moldaketak egingo dizkie artikuluei, behar izanez gero.
Many times, after looking at the brumas from my house, it has occurred to me not to catch umbrellas, even though I know I will just soak up. Why will it be? Maybe you don't want to catch the umbrella? Maybe in the hope that I don't get wet? Nevertheless, the conclusion has always... [+]
I remember when I was 16 years old, the Ertzaintza first identified me in a concentration in favor of the Basque Country before the Bergara courts. We believed that in Euskal Herria it was legitimate to cry for the Euskaldunization of the courts, but then there would also be a... [+]
The disaster caused by the cold drop in Valencia has left us dramatic images, both because of the immediate consequences it has had, and because the future awaiting us has brought us forward: that this type of extreme climate phenomena will be increasingly numerous and serious... [+]
The update of the Navarra Energy Plan goes unnoticed. The Government of Navarre made this public and, at the end of the period for the submission of claims, no government official has explained to us what their proposals are to the citizens.
The reading of the documentation... [+]
Since the disappearance of the Soviet Union, rusophobia has been growing. The concept of security of the UN Security Council of 2002 is very clear and indicates that the security and stability of the planet must depend on the states that do not intend to challenge the United... [+]
Andoni Urrestarazu Landazabal was born in the village of Araia on 16 July 1902 and died in Vitoria on 21 November 1993. It is now 31 years old and I think it is time to recognize his name and be, because the legacy he left is not well known. Umandi used the name of a mountain in... [+]
Autobiography writing is, they say, the most effective tool for personal development, the most liberating. Pulling things away from the past and remembering them, it seems that it helps unleash the knots of the present. Yes, it helps to understand the present and to draw a... [+]
I have done a review from the announcement of the pandemic to the tragedy in Valencia and have concluded that the disastrous institutional management that lies and forupe as firewalls is constant of the ruling class.
We do not have a valid substitute ruler as long as this... [+]
November 19 is World Bathing Day. Even today, in the twenty-first century, many workers here in the Basque Country do not have the right to use the toilet in their working days. Many transport workers are an example of this.
Toilets are the key to public health and play a... [+]
We know that artificial intelligence is representing many fields in human beings: comfort, speed, efficiency ... We've been led to believe that human endeavor is an obstacle to the speed needs of this capitalist world. The aggressions to reduce our chances of doing, doing and... [+]
In recent weeks it has not been possible for those of us who work in architecture that the climate phenomenon of Valencia has not been translated into our work discourse. Because we need to think about and design the path of water in decks, sewers, plazas and building parks. We... [+]
Self-esteem sometimes seems intimate. But if self-esteem is about the image that you have of yourself, about the value that you give yourself, you'll also have to see the decisions that you can make. What value does someone who can't decide have? So we start to look at our mother... [+]
The Sanmartines are well known in our homes, as it is time to kill the pig. However, many people will not know that before St. Martin's day marked the end of the agricultural year. And that was no nonsense. In fact, at the end of the year, I had to pay an annual rent to my... [+]
For a whole week we have talked about the book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Collodi, in the classroom of the university, with teachers of Early Childhood and Primary Education. Our main reference has been the nice edition that Galtzagorri published in 2011, which included the... [+]
“You learn walking and singing.” This has been one of the subjects this week in the groups of C2. It wasn't about learning to sing or walking, it was about using the future correctly. The activity has given me what to think and I've wondered how we learn to teach. I've heard... [+]