Last year you created the Zirgari working group. What news have you had this year?

Leire Bayon (M.T. ):We took out the purple bracelets.

Maddi Zubilwaukee (M.Z. ):We have distributed them in the Morado Point of the Pirates' feast, and we have given a protocol and we have explained it to those who wore them. Thus, we have managed to increase our presence and expand our allies.

Before the parties, did you have any relationship with the city council to respond to the assaults?

C.M. :We met with the City Council Party Department, but not to talk about the protocol. In case of aggression, it is a question of requesting permits to suspend the activity on the Boulevard during the concentration. We were clear that we didn't want to build a partnership with them, because we are a self-managed movement, and our goal is to ensure site safety. In any case, we told them that we believe that they have many resources to fulfil their responsibilities correctly. We do not want to cooperate, but we want the City Hall to shoulder its responsibilities.

We believe that the City Hall can do more with the resources it has. We face the Punto Morado in a self-managed manner. They, on the other hand, closed at night the information point they had installed in the Gap. On the other hand, we want to make it clear that all the attacks we received did not occur in the pirate area, but that the majority were denounced in the pirate area, since the only alternative offered by the City Hall is to go to the Ertzaintza.

At what point and how did they decide to suspend the programme?

T.P. :The night when the most assaults were recorded was Tuesday, when the most assaults were recorded. That night we had two assists and we had to help two women go to the Ertzaintza and to the hospital. Zirgia members and an ally of the Donostia feminist movement worked on it, and at Punto Morado we stayed about three people collecting more complaints. In addition, after being aware of these last two attacks, on Tuesday night we decided to do a kind of act and we went up on stage to report and account for the attacks. Then, from the same scenario, we saw several girls reporting aggression and expelling the boys from the area responded very violently.

C.M. : That night everything overwhelmed us and the situation seemed untenable to us.

Was it easy to make a decision?

T.P. : We had a lot of doubts, those of us who were at Punto Morado did not see it clear, but those who made the legal journey with those who were assaulted were clear that this could not be the case.

C.M. : In addition, it was the eve of the holiday, and we knew that the suspension of the party was going to cause economic damage to the movement of the pirates. In any case, we talked to those in charge of the area and within a few hours they called the Flamenka. On Wednesday we decided unanimously to suspend the party.

They suspended the festivities and called the Auzolan.

T.P. :The response of the pirates was a very nice surprise to me.

C.M. :We closed the black plastic txosnas, made banners, prepared the food in the gaztetxe Kijera, and in the evening, a cacerolada was made called by the indignados neighbors. Also the bars of Calle del Carbon got a satisfactory answer.

However, they were not satisfied with the City Hall’s response.

C.M. :No. On Wednesday, we were at 13:00, at a press conference, and at the noon briefing, the mayor stated that there were two assaults and that the parties were normal. After spending the whole night at the hospital and at the police station, we felt a great anger. It was hard to see that while we gave it all he continued with the party with total normality.

When you made the saucepan, there were moments of tension.

T.P. : We have always respected that festival that Gaztelubide celebrates every year. Every year we used to take music out of the festive enclosure for her choir to sing, but this year we were very angry. It was the only way we had to force the mayor to react, because he was there. The tensions went up and down, and it came to me right to vent.

In the end, you read the testimonies collected in the Punto Morado. What was the response of the people?

C.M. :In total there were many aggressions and it seemed important to us to say what the aggressions were so that people could see the crude situation. As we read the testimonies, there was a great silence, people listened carefully to the testimonies. In addition, we also mentioned the jokes of the crews that received the complaint on the phone and, by informing them, people started to whistle.

In the statement you posted after the parties, you denounced everything that had to happen in the denunciation process.

C.M. :The process was very evoked. We received a testimony of high impact and saw that the woman who suffered the aggression was in shock. We present to him the possibilities he had among us all. We tried to give him a friendly welcome and told him that we would respect his decision. The woman, who had refused to report, wanted to initiate a complaint process. Once in the hospital, he was told that he could not be tested without a court complaint. The reception was very cold and did not take into account his condition, they treated him as if he had broken a hand. Then we go down to the police station on our own. The host woman told him through the microphone and a glass to tell him what happened. Then, in addition, the Ertzaines asked him over and over again about what happened, they will always do so, but it seemed they were waiting for him to be run over. It was a very long and cold process.

Have you met with the City Hall after the holidays?

C.M. :We reconvened on Thursday of parties with Fiestas. After the race we are about to hold a meeting and we have decided to bring our complaints, petitions and opinions to their proper places.

After all this, have you managed to take time to take care of yourself?

C.M. :We have tried to care for each other, and the strength we have all created together has been nice. Despite its individual hardness, penetration is brutal.

T.P. : I went on vacation after the holidays, but I couldn't disconnect. Now we intend to share feelings and experiences in the group, we believe it will do us well.